Flag

British West Florida
British West Florida in 1767.

Capital Pensacola
Pensacola (1763)

Governor

 •  1763 George Johnstone

History

 •  Treaty of Paris February 10, 1763

 •  Transferred to Spain 1783

 •  Treaty of San Lorenzo 1795

 •  Treaty of San Ildefonso 1800

 •  Republic of West Florida 1810

 •  Annexation by U.S. December 10, 1810

1810–1821

West Florida
Florida (Spanish: Florida
Florida Occidental) was a region on the north shore of the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico that underwent several boundary and sovereignty changes during its history. As its name suggests, it was formed out of the western part of former Spanish Florida
Spanish Florida (East Florida formed the eastern part, with the Apalachicola River
Apalachicola River the border), along with lands taken from French Louisiana; West Florida's capital was Pensacola. The colony included about 2/3 of what is now the Florida
Florida Panhandle, as well as parts of the modern U.S. states of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. Great Britain established West and East Florida
East Florida in 1763 out of land taken from France and Spain
Spain after the French and Indian War. As the newly acquired territory was too large to govern from one administrative center, the British divided it into two new colonies separated by the Apalachicola River. British West Florida's government was based in Pensacola; and the colony included the part of formerly Spanish Florida
Spanish Florida which lay west of the Apalachicola, plus parts of formerly French Louisiana. It thus comprised all territory between the Mississippi
Mississippi and Apalachicola Rivers, with a northern boundary which shifted several times over the subsequent years. Both West and East Florida
East Florida remained loyal to the British crown during the American Revolution, and served as havens for Tories fleeing from the Thirteen Colonies. Spain
Spain invaded West Florida
Florida and captured Pensacola
Pensacola in 1781, and after the war Britain ceded both Floridas to Spain. However, the lack of defined boundaries led to a series of border disputes between Spanish West Florida
Spanish West Florida and the fledgling United States known as the West Florida
Florida Controversy. Because of disagreements with the Spanish government, American and English settlers between the Mississippi
Mississippi and Perdido rivers declared that area as the independent Republic of West Florida
Republic of West Florida in 1810. (None of the short-lived Republic lay within the borders of the modern U.S. state of Florida; it comprised the Florida parishes
Florida parishes of today's Louisiana.) Within months it was annexed by the United States, which claimed the region as part of the Louisiana
Louisiana Purchase of 1803. In 1819 the United States negotiated the purchase of the remainder of West Florida
Florida and all of East Florida
East Florida in the Adams–Onís Treaty, and in 1822 both were merged into the Florida
Florida Territory.

Contents

1 Background 2 Colonial period

2.1 British era 2.2 Spanish era

3 Republic of West Florida 4 American annexation of the territory

4.1 United States claim 4.2 Counters to the U.S. claim

5 Later history and legacy 6 Governors 7 See also 8 References 9 Bibliography 10 External links

Background[edit] The area known as West Florida
Florida was originally claimed by Spain
Spain as part of La Florida, which included most of what is now the southeastern United States. Spain
Spain made several attempts to conquer and colonize the area, notably including Tristán de Luna's short-lived settlement in 1559, but it was not settled permanently until the 17th century, with the establishment of missions to the Apalachee. In 1698 the settlement of Pensacola
Pensacola was established in order to check French expansion into the area. Beginning in the late 17th century, the French established settlements along the Gulf Coast and in the region as part of their colonial La Louisiane, including Mobile (1702) and Fort Toulouse
Fort Toulouse (1717) in present-day Alabama[1]:134 and Fort Maurepas
Fort Maurepas (1699) in present-day coastal Mississippi. After years of contention between France and Spain, they agreed to use the Perdido River
Perdido River (the modern border between Florida
Florida and Alabama) as the boundary between French Louisiana
Louisiana and Spanish Florida.[1]:122 Before 1762 France had owned and administered the land west of the Perdido River
Perdido River as part of La Louisiane. A secret treaty in 1762 had effectively, upon being revealed in 1764, ceded to Spain
Spain all of French Louisiana
Louisiana west of the Mississippi
Mississippi River, as well as the Isle of Orleans. Notably, Spain
Spain failed to make good by occupancy its title to Louisiana
Louisiana until 1769, when it took formal possession. For six years, therefore, Louisiana
Louisiana as France possessed it, and as Spain
Spain received it,[2] included none of the West Florida
Florida territory between the Mississippi
Mississippi and Perdido rivers, as the title to that territory passed immediately from France to Britain in 1763, following its defeat in the Seven Years' War.[3]:48 Under the treaty concluding the French and Indian War
French and Indian War (Seven Years' War) in 1763, Britain obtained immediate title to all of French Louisiana
Louisiana east of the Mississippi
Mississippi River. This included the land between the Perdido and Mississippi
Mississippi rivers. Spain
Spain also ceded to Great Britain its territory of La Florida, in exchange for Cuba, which the British had captured during the war. As a result, for the next two decades, the British controlled nearly all of the coast of the Gulf of Mexico east of the Mississippi
Mississippi River.[1]:134 Most of the Spanish population left Florida
Florida at that time, and its colonial government records were relocated to Havana, Cuba. Colonial period[edit]

Annotated map of the territorial changes of British and Spanish West Florida[4]

Under Spanish rule, Florida
Florida was divided by the natural separation of the Suwannee River
Suwannee River into West Florida
Florida and East Florida.[5] (map: Carey & Lea, 1822)

British era[edit] Main article: British West Florida Finding this new territory too large to govern as one unit, the British divided it into two new colonies, West Florida
Florida and East Florida, separated by the Apalachicola River, as set forth in the Royal Proclamation of 1763. East Florida
East Florida consisted of most of the formerly Spanish Florida, and retained the old Spanish capital of St. Augustine. West Florida
Florida comprised the land between the Mississippi
Mississippi and Apalachicola Rivers, with Pensacola
Pensacola designated as its capital. The northern boundary was arbitrarily set at the 31st parallel north.[1]:134 Many English Americans and Scotch-Irish Americans moved to the territory at this time. The Governor
Governor of West Florida
Florida in November 1763 was George Johnstone; his lieutenant governor, Montfort Browne, was a major landowner in the province who heavily promoted its development. Seven General Assemblies were convoked between 1766 and 1778.[6][7] In 1767, the British moved the northern boundary to the 32° 22′ north latitude, extending from the Yazoo to the Chattahoochee River, which included the Natchez District
Natchez District and the Tombigbee District.[8] The appended area included approximately the lower halves of the present states of Mississippi
Mississippi and Alabama. Many new settlers arrived in the wake of the British garrison, swelling the population. In 1774 the First Continental Congress
First Continental Congress sent letters inviting West Florida
Florida to send delegates, but this proposal was declined as the inhabitants were overwhelmingly Loyalist. During the American War of Independence
American War of Independence the Governor
Governor of West Florida
Florida was Peter Chester. The commander of British forces during the war was John Campbell. The colony was attacked in 1778 by the Willing Expedition. Spanish era[edit] See also: Spanish West Florida Spain
Spain entered the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War on the side of France but not the Thirteen Colonies.[9] Bernardo de Gálvez, governor of Spanish Louisiana, led a military campaign along the Gulf Coast, capturing Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge and Natchez from the British in 1779, Mobile in 1780, and Pensacola
Pensacola in 1781. In the 1783 Treaty of Paris, which ended the war, the British agreed to a boundary between the United States and West Florida
Florida at 31° north latitude between the Mississippi
Mississippi and Apalachicola Rivers. However, the separate Anglo-Spanish agreement, which ceded both Florida
Florida provinces back to Spain, did not specify a northern boundary for Florida, and the Spanish government assumed that the boundary was the same as in the 1763 agreement by which they had first given their territory in Florida
Florida to Britain. This sparked the first West Florida
Florida Controversy. Spain
Spain claimed the expanded 1764 boundary, while the United States claimed that the boundary was at the 31° parallel. Negotiations in 1785–1786 between John Jay
John Jay and Don Diego de Gardoqui
Don Diego de Gardoqui failed to reach a satisfactory conclusion. The border was finally resolved in 1795 by the Treaty of San Lorenzo, in which Spain
Spain recognized the 31° parallel as the boundary. Spain
Spain continued to maintain East and West Florida
Florida as separate colonies. When Spain
Spain acquired West Florida
Florida in 1783, the eastern British boundary was the Apalachicola River, but Spain
Spain in 1785 moved it eastward to the Suwannee River.[10][11] The purpose was to transfer San Marcos and the district of Apalachee
Apalachee from East Florida
East Florida to West Florida.[5][12] In the secret Treaty of San Ildefonso of 1800, Spain
Spain agreed to return Louisiana
Louisiana to France; however, the boundaries were not explicitly specified. After France sold the Louisiana
Louisiana Purchase to the United States in 1803, another boundary dispute erupted. The United States laid claim to the territory from the Perdido River
Perdido River to the Mississippi River, which the Americans believed had been a part of the old province of Louisiana
Louisiana when the French had agreed to cede it to Spain in 1762. The Spanish insisted that they had administered that portion as the province of West Florida
Florida and that it was not part of the territory restored to France by Charles IV in 1802,[13][14] as France had never given West Florida
Florida to Spain, among a list of other reasons. Republic of West Florida[edit]

Flag of the Republic of West Florida, in 1810.[15]

Main article: Republic of West Florida The United States and Spain
Spain held long, inconclusive negotiations on the status of West Florida. In the meantime, American settlers established a foothold in the area and resisted Spanish control. British settlers, who had remained, also resented Spanish rule, leading to a rebellion in 1810 and the establishment for 74 days of the Republic of West Florida. In West Florida
Florida from June to September 1810, many secret meetings of those who resented Spanish rule, as well as three openly held conventions, took place in the Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge district. Out of those meetings grew the West Florida
Florida rebellion[16] and the establishment of the independent Republic of West Florida, with its capital at St. Francisville, in present-day Louisiana, on a bluff along the Mississippi
Mississippi River. Early in the morning on September 23, 1810, armed rebels stormed Fort San Carlos at Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge and killed two Spanish soldiers[17] "in a sharp and bloody firefight that wrested control of the region from the Spanish."[18] The rebels unfurled the flag of the new republic, a single white star on a blue field. After the successful attack, organized by Philemon Thomas, plans were made to take Mobile and Pensacola
Pensacola from the Spanish and incorporate the eastern part of the province into the new republic.[19] Reuben Kemper led a small force in an attempt to capture Mobile, but the expedition ended in failure. Support for the revolt was far from unanimous. The presence of competing pro-Spanish, pro-American, and pro-independence factions, as well as the presence of scores of foreign agents, contributed to a "virtual civil war within the Revolt as the competing factions jockeyed for position."[18] The faction that favored the continued independence of West Florida
Florida secured the adoption of a constitution at a convention in October. The convention had earlier commissioned an army under General Philemon Thomas to march across the territory, subdue opposition to the insurrection, and seek to secure as much Spanish-held territory as possible. "Residents of the western Florida Parishes proved largely supportive of the Revolt, while the majority of the population in the eastern region of the Florida
Florida Parishes opposed the insurrection. Thomas' army violently suppressed opponents of the revolt, leaving a bitter legacy in the Tangipahoa and Tchefuncte River regions."[18] On November 7, Fulwar Skipwith
Fulwar Skipwith was elected as governor, together with members of a bicameral legislature. Skipwith was inaugurated on November 29. A week later, he and many of his fellow officials still lingered at St Francisville preparing to go to Baton Rouge, where the next session of the legislature was to consider his ambitious program. The impending U.S. takeover apparently came as a surprise to Skipwith when the Mississippi Territory
Mississippi Territory governor, David Holmes, and his party approached the town. Holmes persuaded all except a few leaders, including Skipwith and Philemon Thomas, the general of the West Florida
Florida troops, to acquiesce to American authority.[20] Skipwith complained bitterly to Holmes that, as a result of seven years of U.S. tolerance of continued Spanish occupation, the United States had abandoned its right to the country and that the West Florida
Florida people would not now submit to the American government without conditions.[20] Skipwith and several of his unreconciled legislators then departed for the fort at Baton Rouge, rather than surrender the country unconditionally and without terms.[20] At Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge on December 9, Skipwith informed Holmes that he would no longer resist but could not speak for the troops in the fort. Their commander was John Ballinger, who upon the assurance of Holmes that his troops would not be harmed, agreed to surrender the fort. The Orleans Territory governor, William C. C. Claiborne
William C. C. Claiborne and his armed forces from Fort Adams
Fort Adams landed two miles above the town. Holmes reported to Claiborne that "the armed citizens ... are ready to retire from the fort and acknowledge the authority of the United States" without insisting upon any terms. Claiborne agreed to a respectful ceremony to mark the formal act of transfer. Thus, at 2:30 p.m. that afternoon, December 10, 1810, "the men within the fort marched out and stacked their arms and saluted the flag of West Florida
Florida as it was lowered for the last time, and then dispersed."[20] The boundaries of the Republic of West Florida
Republic of West Florida included all territory south of parallel 31°N, east of the Mississippi
Mississippi River, and north of the waterway formed by the Iberville River, Amite River, Lake Maurepas, Pass Manchac, Lake Pontchartrain, and the Rigolets. The Pearl River with its branch that flowed into the Rigolets
Rigolets formed the eastern boundary of the republic.[21] American annexation of the territory[edit]

Territorial growth map showing the West Florida
Florida districts of Baton Rouge and Mobile seized by the U.S. in 1810 and 1813, respectively. (Map: William R. Shepherd, 1911, note legend)

See also: West Florida controversy
West Florida controversy and Republic of West Florida § United States annexation On October 27, 1810, U.S. President James Madison
James Madison proclaimed that the United States should take possession of West Florida
Florida between the Mississippi
Mississippi and Perdido Rivers, based on a tenuous claim that it was part of the Louisiana
Louisiana Purchase.[22] (See The U.S. claim, below.) The West Florida
Florida government opposed annexation, preferring to negotiate terms to join the Union. Governor
Governor Fulwar Skipwith
Fulwar Skipwith proclaimed that he and his men would "surround the Flag-Staff and die in its defense."[20]:308 William C. C. Claiborne
William C. C. Claiborne was sent to take possession of the territory, entering the capital of St. Francisville with his forces on December 6, 1810, and Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge on December 10, 1810. Claiborne refused to recognize the legitimacy of the West Florida government, however, and Skipwith and the legislature eventually agreed to accept Madison's proclamation. Congress passed a joint resolution, approved January 15, 1811, to provide for the temporary occupation of the disputed territory and declaring that the territory should remain subject to future negotiation.[14] On February 12, 1812, Congress secretly authorized President James Madison to take possession of the portion of West Florida
Florida located west of the Perdido River
Perdido River that was not already in the possession of the United States, with authorization to use military and naval force as deemed necessary.[23] The portion of the territory west of the Pearl River was incorporated into the newly formed Territory of Orleans
Territory of Orleans on April 14, 1812.[24] The U.S. annexed the Mobile District of West Florida
Florida to the Mississippi Territory
Mississippi Territory on May 14, 1812,[25][26] although this decision was not effected with military force until nearly a year later. (See Major Gen. James Wilkinson's role). According to one historian, "The incorporation of West Florida
Florida into the Orleans district represents the emergence of infant American imperialism by the newly constructed union. Using force, not negotiations, Claiborne and his army, with Madison's proclamation, forced Skipwith and his sympathizers to accept foreign rule."[27] United States claim[edit] By the secret treaty of October 1, 1800, between France and Spain, known as the St. Ildefonso treaty,[28] Spain
Spain returned to France in 1802 the province of Louisiana
Louisiana as at that time possessed by Spain, and such as it was when France last possessed it in 1769.[3]p 48[13] (In contrast, Madison's 1810 proclamation alluded to the time of France's original, not last, possession.) It is important that in the transfer of Louisiana
Louisiana to the United States, the identical language in Article 3 of the 1800 St. Ildefonso treaty was used. The ambiguity in this third article lent itself to the purpose of U.S. envoy James Monroe, although he had to adopt an interpretation that France had not asserted nor Spain
Spain allowed.[4]p 83 Monroe examined each clause of the third article and interpreted the first clause as if Spain
Spain since 1783 had considered West Florida
Florida as part of Louisiana. The second clause only served to render the first clause clearer. The third clause referred to the treaties of 1783 and 1795, and was designed to safeguard the rights of the United States. This clause then simply gave effect to the others.[4]p 84-85 According to Monroe, France never dismembered Louisiana
Louisiana while it was in her possession. (He regarded November 3, 1762, as the termination date of French possession, rather than 1769, when France formally delivered Louisiana
Louisiana to Spain). After 1783 Spain
Spain reunited West Florida to Louisiana, Monroe held, thus completing the province as France possessed it, with the exception of those portions controlled by the United States. By a strict interpretation of the treaty, therefore, Spain
Spain might be required to cede to the United States such territory west of the Perdido as once belonged to France.[4]p 84-85 Counters to the U.S. claim[edit]

1806 John Cary
John Cary map shows West Florida
Florida (including Pensacola, which was not part of the U.S. claim) in the hands of Spain, separate from the U.S.-held Louisiana
Louisiana Purchase.

Wikisource
Wikisource has original text related to this article: Respecting taking Possession of Part of Louisiana.

As part of the 1803 Louisiana
Louisiana Purchase treaty, France repeated verbatim Article 3 of its 1800 treaty with Spain, thus expressly subrogating the United States to the rights of France and Spain.[29]p 288-291 In 1800, denominated Louisiana
Louisiana did not include West Florida.[29]p 288-291 Spain
Spain in all negotiations with France refused to cede any part of Florida.[29]p 288-291 In 1801 Spain
Spain informed the Spanish governors in North America that the territory ceded to France did not include West Florida.[4]p 87-88 In Spanish government ordinances and treaties, the Floridas were always specified as distinct from all other Spanish possessions.[3]p 49-50 France’s 1801 Treaty of Aranjuez with Spain
Spain stipulated the cession of Louisiana
Louisiana to be a "restoration," not a retrocession.[3]p 50-52 France never gave any part of Florida
Florida to Spain, so Spain
Spain could not give it back.[3]p 50-52 In the time Spain
Spain held the Floridas, they were always called the Floridas and never referred to as a portion of Louisiana. Treaties between United States and Spain
Spain also called them the Floridas.[3]p 50-52 In 1803 France began negotiating with Spain
Spain to acquire West and East Florida, confirming that France did not consider West Florida
Florida to have already been acquired.[3]p 50-52 During his negotiations with France, U.S. envoy Robert Livingston wrote nine reports to Madison in which he stated that West Florida
Florida was not in the possession of France.[3]p 43-44 President Jefferson asked U.S. officials in the border area for advice on the limits of Louisiana, the best informed of whom did not believe it included West Florida.[4]p 87-88 When Louisiana
Louisiana was formally delivered to the United States, the U.S. did not demand possession of West Florida.[4]p 97-100 In the summer of 1804, when the United States and Spain
Spain appealed to France to influence the treaty interpretation, Napoleon
Napoleon strongly sided with Spain.[4]p 109-110 In November 1804, in response to Livingston, France declared the American claim to West Florida
Florida absolutely unfounded.[4]p 113-116 In January 1805, the French and Spanish ambassadors jointly informed Madison that the American claim to West Florida
Florida was untenable. Madison pointed to pre-1763 maps that showed West Florida
Florida as part of the former French Louisiana
Louisiana territory. The French ambassador pointed out to Madison’s dismay that the same applied to Tennessee and Kentucky.[4]p 116-117 Upon the failure of Monroe’s 1804–1805 special mission, Madison was ready to abandon the American claim to West Florida altogether.[4]p 118 In 1805, Monroe’s last proposition to Spain
Spain to obtain West Florida was absolutely rejected.[29]p 293 In an 1809 letter, Jefferson virtually admitted that West Florida
Florida was not a possession of the United States.[3]p 46-47 The U.S. title to the Louisiana
Louisiana territory was itself a vitiated title by virtue of the 1800 France- Spain
Spain treaty.[3]p 46 General Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson personally accepted the delivery of title to West Florida
Florida from its Spanish governor on July 17, 1821.[30]

Later history and legacy[edit] The Spanish continued to dispute the annexation of the western parts of its West Florida
Florida colony, but their power in the region was too weak to do anything about it. They continued administering the remainder of the colony (between the Perdido and Suwannee Rivers) from the capital at Pensacola. On February 22, 1819, Spain
Spain and the United States signed the Adams-Onís Treaty. In this treaty Spain
Spain ceded both West and East Florida
Florida to the United States in exchange for compensation and the renunciation of American claims to Texas.[31] Following ratification by Spain
Spain on October 24, 1820 and the United States on February 19, 1821, the treaty took effect, thereby establishing the current boundaries. President James Monroe
James Monroe was authorized on March 3, 1821, to take possession of East Florida
East Florida and West Florida
Florida for the United States and provide for initial governance.[32] As a result, the U.S. military took over and governed both Floridas with Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson serving as governor. The United States soon organized the Florida Territory
Florida Territory on March 30, 1822, by combining East Florida
East Florida and the rump West Florida east of the Perdido River
Perdido River and establishing a territorial government;[33] it was admitted to the Union as a state on March 3, 1845.[34] West Florida
Florida had an effect on choosing the location of Florida's current capital. At first, the Legislative Council of the Territory of Florida
Florida determined to rotate between the historic capitals of Pensacola
Pensacola and St. Augustine. The first legislative session was held at Pensacola
Pensacola on July 22, 1822; this required delegates from St. Augustine to travel 59 days by sea to attend. To get to the second session in St. Augustine, Pensacola
Pensacola members traveled 28 days over land. During this session, the council decided future meetings should be held at a half-way point to reduce the distance. Eventually Tallahassee, site of an 18th-century Apalachee
Apalachee settlement, was selected as the midpoint between the former capitals of East and West Florida.[1] The portions of West Florida
Florida now located in Louisiana
Louisiana are known as the Florida
Florida Parishes. The Republic of West Florida
Republic of West Florida Historical Museum is located in Jackson, Louisiana, run by the Republic of West Florida Historical Association.[35] In 1991 a lineage society, The Sons & Daughters of the Province & Republic of West Florida
Republic of West Florida 1763–1810, was founded for the descendants of settlers of the period. Its objective included "collect and preserve records, documents and relics pertaining to the history and genealogy of West Florida
Florida prior to December 7, 1810".[36] In 1993, the Louisiana
Louisiana State Legislature renamed Interstate 12, the full length of which is contained in the Florida
Florida Parishes, as the " Republic of West Florida
Republic of West Florida Parkway." In 2002, Leila Lee Roberts, a great-granddaughter of Fulwar Skipwith, donated the original copy of the constitution of the West Florida
Florida Republic and the supporting papers to the Louisiana
Louisiana State Archives.[citation needed] Governors[edit]

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Main article: List of colonial governors of Florida Governors under British rule:

George Johnstone (1763–66) Montfort Browne (acting, 1766–1769) John Eliot (appointed 1767, arrived April 1769, committed suicide shortly afterward) Montfort Browne (acting, 1769) Elias Durnford (acting, 1769–1770) Peter Chester (1770–1781)

Governors under Spanish rule:

Arturo O'Neill de Tyrone: (May 9, 1781 – 1794) Enrique White: (1794–1796) Francisco de Paula Gelabert: (1796) Vicente Folch y Juan: (June 1796 – March 1811) Francisco San Maxent: (March 1811 – 1812) Mauricio de Zúñiga: (1812–1813) Mateo González Manrique: (1813–1815) José de Soto: (1815–1816) Mauricio de Zúñiga: (1816) Francisco San Maxent: (1816) José Masot: (1816 – May 26, 1818) William King: (United States military governor, May 26, 1818 – February 4, 1819) José María Callava: (February 4, 1819 – July 17, 1821)

See also[edit]

East Florida Republic of West Florida West Florida
Florida Controversy Alabama
Alabama Territory Adams-Onis Treaty Spanish colonization of the Americas New Spain

Spanish Florida Spanish West Florida Louisiana
Louisiana (New Spain) Spanish Texas

French colonization of the Americas New France

Louisiana
Louisiana (New France)

British colonization of the Americas British North America

British West Florida Thirteen Colonies American Revolutionary War

Dominion of British West Florida
British West Florida (2005)

References[edit]

^ a b c d e Gannon, Michael V. (1993). Florida: A Short History. University Press of Florida. ISBN 0-8130-1167-1.  ^ The phrase, " Louisiana
Louisiana as France possessed it, and as Spain
Spain received it," paraphrases a key term in Article III of the Treaty of St. Ildefonso of 1800: "Louisiana, with the same extent that it now has in the hands of Spain
Spain and that it had when France possessed it". ^ a b c d e f g h i j Chambers, Henry E. (May 1898). West Florida
Florida and its relation to the historical cartography of the United States. Baltimore, Maryland: The Johns Hopkins Press.  ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Cox, Isaac Joslin (1918). The West Florida Controversy, 1798–1813 – a Study in American Diplomacy. Baltimore, Maryland: The Johns Hopkins Press.  ^ a b "The Evolution of a State, Map of Florida
Florida Counties – 1820". 10th Circuit Court of Florida. Retrieved 2016-01-26. Under Spanish rule, Florida
Florida was divided by the natural separation of the Suwannee River into West Florida
Florida and East Florida.  ^ The South in the Revolution, 1763–1789 – John Richard Alden – Google Books ^ "Spanish colonial St. Augustine". University of Florida
Florida George A. Smathers Libraries. p. 4.  ^ The National Archives (British), Discussion of the Privy Council. PC 1/59/5/1 ^ Spencer Tucker; James R. Arnold; Roberta Wiener (30 September 2011). The Encyclopedia of North American Indian Wars, 1607–1890: A Political, Social, and Military History. ABC-CLIO. p. 751. ISBN 978-1-85109-697-8.  ^ Wright, J. Leitch (1972). "Research Opportunities in the Spanish Borderlands: West Florida, 1781–1821". Latin American Research Review. Latin American Studies Association. 7 (2): 24–34. JSTOR 2502623.  Wright also notes, "It was some time after 1785 before it was clearly established that Suwannee was the new eastern boundary of the province of Apalachee." ^ Weber, David J. (1992). The Spanish Frontier in North America. New Haven, Connecticut, USA: Yale University Press. p. 275. Spain never drew a clear line to separate the two Floridas, but West Florida extended easterly to include Apalachee
Apalachee Bay, which Spain
Spain shifted from the jurisdiction of St. Augustine to more accessible Pensacola.  ^ Klein, Hank. "History Mystery: Was Destin Once in Walton County?". The Destin Log. Retrieved 2016-01-26. On July 21, 1821 all of what had been West Florida
Florida was named Escambia County, after the Escambia River. It stretched from the Perdido River
Perdido River to the Suwanee River with its county seat at Pensacola.  ^ a b Real cédula expedida en Barcelona, a 15 de octubre de 1802, para que se entregue a la Francia la colonia y provincia de la Luisiana. Coleccion histórica completa de los tratdos, convenciones, capitulaciones, armistricios, y otros actos diplomáticos de todos los estados: de la America Latina comprendidos entre el golfo de Méjico y el cabo de Hornos, desde el año de 1493 hasta nuestros dias, Volume 4 (in Spanish). Paris. 1862. pp. 326–328.  On 15 October 1802, Charles IV published a royal bill in Barcelona that made effective the transfer of Louisiana, providing the withdrawal of the Spanish troops in the territory, on condition that the presence of the clergy be maintained and the inhabitants keep their properties. ^ a b "Treaty of Amity, Settlement, and Limits Between the United States of America and His Catholic Majesty. 1819". Avalon Project, Yale University. Retrieved 2011-10-27. By the treaty of Saint Ildefonso, made October 1, 1800, Spain
Spain had ceded Louisiana
Louisiana to France and France, by the treaty of Paris, signed April 30, 1803, had ceded it to the United States. Under this treaty the United States claimed the countries between the Iberville and the Perdido. Spain
Spain contended that her cession to France comprehended only that territory which, at the time of the cession, was denominated Louisiana, consisting of the island of New Orleans, and the country which had been originally ceded to her by France west of the Mississippi. Congress passed a joint resolution, approved January 15, 1811, declaring that the United States, under the peculiar circumstances of the existing crisis, could not, without serious inquietude, see any part of this disputed territory pass into the hands of any foreign power; and that a due regard to their own safety compelled them to provide, under certain contingencies, for the temporary occupation of the disputed territory; they, at the same time, declaring that the territory should, in their hands, remain subject to future negotiation.  — excerpt of website's Footnote (1) ^ " Florida
Florida Parishes". Center for Southeast Louisiana
Louisiana Studies, Southeastern Louisiana
Louisiana University. Retrieved 24 October 2015.  ^ Higgs, Robert (June 2005). "The Republic of West Florida: Freedom Fight or Land Grab?" (PDF). The Freeman. 55: 31–32.  ^ Arthur, Stanley Clisby (1935). The Story of the West Florida Rebellion. St. Francisville, Louisiana, U.S.: St. Francisville Democrat. p. 107.  ^ a b c "West Florida
Florida Bicentennial". Hammond, Louisiana, U.S.: Southeast Louisiana
Louisiana University. Retrieved 2016-02-06.  ^ Sterkx, Henry Eugene; Thompson, Brooks (April 1961). "Philemon Thomas and the West Florida
Florida Revolution". Florida
Florida Historical Quarterly: 382–385. , as cited by Higgs, Robert (June 2005). "The Republic of West Florida: Freedom Fight or Land Grab?" (PDF). The Freeman. 55: 31–32.  ^ a b c d e Cox, Isaac Joslin (Jan 1912). "The American Intervention in West Florida". The American Historical Review. Oxford University Press on behalf of American Historical Association. 17 (2): 290–311. doi:10.1086/ahr/17.2.290. JSTOR 1833000.  ^ Darby, William; Melish, John (1816). "A Map of the State of Louisiana
Louisiana With Part Of The Mississippi
Mississippi Territory, from Actual Survey By Wm. Darby. Entered ... 8th day of April 1816, by William Darby. Saml. Harrison Sct. Philad. Philadelphia, Published May the 1st 1816, by John Melish". David Rumsey Map Collection. Retrieved 2016-01-14.  ^ "Proclamation 16 – Taking Possession of Part of Louisiana (Annexation of West Florida)" ^ "An Act authorizing the President of the United States to take possession of a tract of country lying south of the Mississippi territory and west of the river Perdido" ^ "An Act to enlarge the limits of the state of Louisiana" ^ Tucker, Spencer C. (1993). The Jeffersonian Gunboat Navy. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina
University of South Carolina Press. ISBN 0-87249-849-2. p. 101 ^ "An Act to enlarge the boundaries of the Mississippi
Mississippi territory" ^ Scallions, Cody (Fall 2011). "The Rise and Fall of the Original Lone Star State: Infant American Imperialism Ascendant in West Florida". The Florida
Florida Historical Quarterly. 90 (2): 193–220.  ^ "Treaty of San Ildefonso : October 1, 1800". The Avalon Project. Yale Law School. Retrieved 2015-11-16.  ^ a b c d Curry, J. L. M. (April 1888). "The Acquisition of Florida". Magazine of American History. XIX: 286–301.  ^ Ireland, Gordon (1941). Boundaries, possessions, and conflicts in Central and North America and the Caribbean. New York: Octagon Books. p. 298.  ^ Britannica Online entry "Transcontinental Treaty ^ "An Act for carrying into execution the treaty between the United States and Spain, concluded at Washington on the twenty-second day of February, one thousand eight hundred and nineteen" ^ "An Act for the establishment of a territorial government in Florida" ^ "An Act for the admission of the States of Iowa and Florida
Florida into the Union" ^ The Republic of West Florida
Republic of West Florida Historical Museum ^ Objectives and Purpose

Bibliography[edit]

Arthur, Stanley Clisby (1935). The Story of the West Florida Rebellion. St. Francisville, LA: St. Francisville Democrat. ISBN 1885480474.  — online here Bice, David (2004). The Original Lone Star Republic: Scoundrels, Statesmen and Schemers of the 1810 West Florida
Florida Rebellion. Jacksonville: Heritage Publishing Consultants. ISBN 1-891647-81-4. OCLC 56994640.  Cox, Isaac Joslin (1918). The West Florida
Florida Controversy, 1798–1813: A Study in American Diplomacy. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. OCLC 479174.  Gannon, Michael (1996). The New History of Florida. University Press of Florida. ISBN 0-8130-1415-8. McMichael, Andrew (Spring 2002). "The Kemper 'Rebellion': Filibustering and Resident Anglo-American Loyalty in Spanish West Florida". Louisiana
Louisiana History. 43 (2): 140.  McMichael, Andrew (2008). Atlantic Loyalties: Americans in Spanish West Florida, 1785–1810. University of Georgia Press. ISBN 978-0-8203-3004-4.  Scallions, Cody (2011). "The Rise and Fall of the Original Lone Star State: Infant American Imperialism Ascendant in West Florida". Florida Historical Quarterly. 90 (2).  West Florida
Florida Collection, Center for Southeast Louisiana
Louisiana Studies, Linus A. Sims Memorial Library, Southeastern Louisiana
Louisiana University, Hammond. For a summary of the holdings, click here.

External links[edit]

British West Florida, by Robin Fabel (2007) at Encyclopedia of Alabama History of West Florida
Florida – Histories and Source Documents — includes full text of Arthur (1935) and other materials (compiled by Bill Thayer) "Not Merely Perfidious but Ungrateful": The U.S. Takeover of West Florida, by Robert Higgs (2005) West Florida, by Ann Gilbert (2003) <--Broken link, February 2017. Map of West Florida, 1806, by John Cary A Page of History from the Deepest of the Deep South – British West Florida, by Charlsie Russell (2006) The Sons & Daughters of the Province & Republic of West Florida
Florida 1763 – 1810 — Republic of West Florida
Republic of West Florida descendants' organization

Coordinates: 30°39′N 88°41′W / 30.650°N 88.683°W / 30.650; -88.683

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