|
Feature Stories
TAMPA - Florida’s Economic Backbone, Then and Now
By Ricardo A. Roig, Esq.
|
|
|
Tampa’s history dates back to 1528, the first recorded visit by Spanish explorers to the continental United States.
This marked the beginning of the move by European civilization to this part of the new world. When the Spanish first arrived, they termed Tampa Bay “La Bahía del Espíritu Santo” (The Bay of the Holy Spirit) because of its expansiveness.
Given the highly religious tone of the times, the Spanish explorers believed that Tampa Bay could only have been the result of the hand of the Holy Spirit.
The arrival of the Spanish to Tampa Bay pre-dated the arrival of the pilgrims to Plymouth Rock (Massachusetts) in 1621 by nearly a century.
|
|
|
Henry B. Plant Museum
Housed in the former Tampa Bay Hotel
and now part of the University of Tampa.
|
|
Of note, when Jamestown was founded in 1607, St. Augustine, Florida (founded in 1565) was undergoing an urban renewal.
During the first 350 years, development of the Tampa Bay area was slow. The area attracted some settlers and explorers, and Ft. Brooke was established to guard over Tampa Bay. Other than Spanish Town, fishing ranchos and lumbering, not much economic activity went on. In 1884, which marked the beginning of Tampa’s economic “breakthrough,” there were but 700 residents in what was then a fishing village called Tampa Town. Previous efforts to make Tampa a city had failed. That, however, was about to change and Tampa would never look back. Three major events occurred,
Beginning in 1884, which changed Tampa forever. First, Henry B. Plant brought his rail line to Tampa. Much as Flagler had done for St. Augustine and later Miami, Plant’s decision to bring the rail line to Tampa (rather than to Cedar Key) was the first critical element in Tampa’s economic birth. A bridge, now called Kennedy, connected Tampa Town to Plant’s Tampa Bay Hotel. In addition to his railroad, Plant established a ferry service that went from Tampa to Key West and then to Havana, Cuba. At the time, Key West was the cigar capital of the United States and Florida’s most populous city.
The second event was the decision by Vicente Martínez Ybor and Ignacio Haya to move their cigar factories to Tampa. At the urging of civil engineer Gavino Gutiérrez, they purchased 200 acres east of the Hillsborough River in the area now known as Ybor City. Almost immediately, Ybor City began to attract cigar factories from both Key West and New York. It was so successful that Tampa became a city and quickly annexed the area (Ybor City) to capture its tax base.
Shortly thereafter, based on the success of Ybor City, a group of locals purchased 200 acres on the west side of the river (north of the Tampa Bay Hotel), an area that was later incorporated as the City of West Tampa. These land speculators were headed by then State Attorney Hugh C. MacFarlane and friends. As with Ybor City, West Tampa attracted a number of cigar factories. With the advent of Ybor City and West Tampa, the Fortune St. Bridge was constructed over the Hillsborough River connecting the two areas. A trolley was installed to provide mass transit to workers and their families.
Between Ybor City and West Tampa, Tampa attracted many medium to large cigar factories that in time would number more than 200, as well as a number of smaller cigar factories. The smaller factories were known as “chinchales” (meaning, "where the chinch bugs reside") or "Buckeyes" because these small factories at times used tobacco grown in Ohio, the “Buckeye State”.
As a result, Tampa became the cigar capital of the United States and Tampa’s growth was on its way. Because of its economic success, Tampa began to attract Cubans, Spaniards, Sicilians, Germans, and Romanian Jews looking for a better life in this booming city. This mixture of different cultures and nationalities gave Tampa the “paella of flavors” it still enjoys today.
The third major event was the discovery of phosphate near Tampa. With this discovery, the area around Tampa began to be mined for phosphate, which continues today. The phosphate was then transported by rail and ship. The shipping of phosphate made the port of Tampa a major port based on its annual tonnage.
In 1898, another event occurred to solidify Tampa’s importance, nationally and internationally. Tampa was designated as the headquarters and the staging point for the United States military buildup in preparation for the Spanish-American War.
Every major newspaper in the world had a reporter in Tampa to cover the news. In fact, even Winston Churchill came to Tampa to report the news back to England. Even though the Spanish-American War was a short-lived war, its impact on Tampa was long-lasting as people all over the world learned of Tampa.
Tampa’s dominance in the cigar industry continued until 1961, when the United States declared an embargo on Cuba and, in turn, on the tobacco necessary to manufacture quality cigars. This had a significant negative impact on Tampa’s economy, an impact from which it would take Tampa some time to recover. Today, the vestiges of Tampa’s days as the cigar capital are still evident with numerous cigar factory buildings dotting the landscape.
 The Tampa of today is an extension of the Tampa of yesteryear, and Tampa reflects its history. Tampa is home to Cubans, Spaniards, Sicilians, and their descendents. Tampa has leaders named Alvarez, Greco, Martínez, Piniella, González, López, Miranda, Sánchez, Rodríguez, García, de la Parte and many more. Tampa has “La Gaceta” the only trilingual newspaper in the country, published in English, Spanish and Italian for more than 80 years.
As a result of its Hispanic heritage and foundation, Tampa has attracted a multitude of new immigrants to this country. Specifically, Tampa is home to growing populations of Mexicans, Dominicans, Colombians, Puerto Ricans, Peruvians, Venezuelans, Argentinians, and other nationalities. These immigrants have brought with them a willingness to work and to make Tampa and its economy grow.
Tampa today is a bustling economic dynamo and a diverse combination of various economic sectors. This diverse economic base allows Tampa to weather bumps in the economic coaster more easily than other parts of the state or country. For example, during the recent economic downturn, Tampa’s economy fared better than many areas.
Tampa’s economy includes manufacturing, agriculture, service industries, tourism, trade, advanced technology, and construction. Tampa also serves as the regional and national headquarters for several national companies. There is not a facet of economic activity which is not represented in Tampa.
The importance of Tampa’s economy to the state is well-established. Tampa is the largest media market in Florida. Tampa’s metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is the largest in the state.
Beginning in 1980, the population of Tampa’s MSA surpassed the population of Miami’s MSA and the gap has continued to widen since then. Tampa’s population is now nearly 150,000 greater than Miami’s population.
Also, the number of jobs in Tampa’s MSA (1.25 million) is greater than the 1.04 million jobs in Miami’s MSA and the 970,000 jobs in Orlando’s MSA.
The income in Tampa’s MSA for the year 2002 is nearly $76 billion. By comparison, the incomes in Miami’s MSA and Orlando’s MSA for the same period are nearly $64 billion and $51 billion, respectively.
By 2015, the gap is projected to widen as follows: $171 billion for Tampa, $137 billion for Miami and $125 billion for Orlando. Tampa has been, and continues to be, the economic backbone of the state of Florida.
Tampa’s Hispanic population is representative of its diverse economy. Hispanics in the Tampa Bay area own everything from food additive companies, commercial printing shops, pharmaceutical manufacturers, defense industry subcontractors, industrial suppliers, electric machinery companies, construction companies, banks, service companies, and even the largest tortilla manufacturer in Florida.
Tampa’s Hispanic population has both deep roots as well as new seedlings. There are Hispanics in the area who have been there for three and four generations. There are also Hispanics who arrived within the last month. However, each adds to the economic growth and prosperity of the community.
One area in which Tampa has lagged behind the rest of the state is in its development of international trade. If Tampa is going to develop its potential in the international business arena, Tampa’s Hispanic business community will have to play a leading role in its development, particularly in Latin America. Tampa’s Hispanic business community is the natural conduit needed to grow this international business.
For its part, the Tampa Bay Hispanic Chamber of Commerce is beginning to take an active role in the international business development of the Tampa Bay area.
For those of us who live in Tampa, there is little surprise over the city’s consistent ranking as one of the top places in the country for Hispanics to live. It is also not surprising to us that Tampa has one of the highest incomes per capita among Hispanics in the country. Lastly, it is not surprising to us that ever-increasing numbers of Hispanics (even some from Miami) are choosing to call Tampa home.
To some of those outside Tampa, Miami and even Orlando may be seen as the economic “capital” of Florida. Those of us who live in the Tampa Bay area know better. Since its breakthrough year in 1884, Tampa has been the state’s economic backbone and projections bear out Tampa’s continuing leadership in the state’s economy. Additionally, the diversity and depth of Tampa’s Hispanic community make it like none in the state.
Despite sometimes lacking the recognition it deserves, Tampa continues to be critical to the development and growth of Florida, and its importance in the future will continue to grow. And in the same relative obscurity as the Spaniards who arrived in America long before the English, Tampa’s Hispanic community continues to play an important role in Tampa’s success. Tampa’s Hispanic community (as have the Hispanic communities in other parts of the state) has, thus, been critical to Florida’s success.
Ricardo A. Roig, Esq., is a commercial attorney and president of the Tampa Bay Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
The author thanks the Honorable E. J. Salcines, Appellate Judge, Second District Court of Appeal, for his contributions to this article by sharing his extensive knowledge about the history of Tampa and its Hispanic heritage. The author also thanks Dave Beattie of Hamilton, Beattie & Staff and the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce for the statistical information included in the article.
Photos courtesy of Tampa Bay Convention & Visitors Bureau.
|
