After the successful attack, organized by Philemon Thomas, plans were made to take Mobile and Pensacola from the Spanish and incorporate the eastern part of the province into the new republic.
The idea was to create numerous rice plantations in the marsh areas in northeast Florida. Florida Became a British Colony In exchange for Havana, the Spanish traded Florida to Britain. Francisco de Corcoles y Martnez(April 9, 1706-July 13, 1716)
Florida County Court. . West Florida extended from the Apalachicola to the Mississippi and Lake Pontchartrain, and north to latitude 31; but the northern boundary was afterward made latitude 32 and 28 minutes, thus taking in nearly the southern half of what are now the States of Alabama and Mississippi. [195], Article IV Section 3 (b) of the Florida Constitution now calls for the lieutenant governor to "act as Governor" during the governor's physical or mental incapacity. They all moved to St.
Augustine, where portions of land in the northern part of the city were given
them. Allison, became acting governor on September 16, 1853. [3]:434. 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. Florida as a colony was never owned by the French, as it was later by the English; however France, who had excellent relations with the Indians, did not lack the will to own it. Nicols Ponce de Len (November 2, 1663-December 30, 1664)
The men who made their mark or signed their name to join the provincial corps was engaged to serve a three-year enlistment and received one shilling a day along with clothing and provisions. He said that his reason for leaving was to gather more recruits and funds from the Bahamas and Baltimore, yet he would end up never returning to the island. Pedro de Aranda y Avellaneda (April 11-August 20, 1687)
. This provision has been invoked one time. There were also five military governors during the colonial period time such as, William P. Duval, John Eaton, Richard K. Call, Robert R. Reid, and John Branch . Britain gained control of Florida in 1763 in exchange for Havana, Cuba, which the British had captured from Spain during the Seven Years War (175663). Yet there must have been a few who were for the cause of independence, for in 1776 the governor of East Florida called oil the militia to join the royal forces to repel invasion and to prevent any more men from joining their "tretorous neighbors.". [5], Gregor MacGregor was a Scotsman who had fought during the Peninsular War before heading to South America and fighting for the revolutionaries in the Spanish American wars of independence. An insurrection broke out among them, but was soon crushed and two of the leaders were put to death. Some of the Americans were land speculators eager to profit should the territory join the U.S.[6]:290293, During the decade after 1803, the U.S. southern border was the scene of many minor frontier events that involved diplomatic relations with Britain, France and Spain. 6 years. [49] The secessionist constitution of 1861 would have reduced this to two years and removed the term limit,[50] but the state fell to the Union before the first election under that constitution. An invasion of Florida was planned, but not carried out, and though an expedition was fitted out at St. Augustine to invade Georgia, this also failed. The genius of Washington, the immortal founder of the liberties of America, stimulates that return, and would frown upon our cause, should we attempt to change its course. This time was known in Florida as the British Period.
Originally the major portion of the Spanish territory of La Florida, and later the provinces of East and West Florida, it was ceded to the United States as part of the 1819 AdamsOns Treaty. In 1781 Spain captured Pensacola and its garrison. [4], Tensions between the two countries, and the individuals who lived on either side of the border, escalated and led to a number of conflicts. The British formally divided Florida into East and West colonies, an administrative innovation that was subsequently maintained by the Spanish after their return following the American Revolution in 1781-1783. The West Florida government opposed annexation, preferring to negotiate terms to join the Union. Ultimately in 1810, citizens of West Florida revolted from Spain and set up their own country known as the Republic of West Florida. [16], Shortly after the second failed attack by the Spanish, a French-born pirate named Louis-Michel Aury arrived and assumed military command, making Hubbard his adjutant-general. Military occupation would incur the wrath of Spain and perhaps also Britain and France. Melchor de Navarrete(August 8, 1749-June 3, 1752)
This action caused a brawl in which Brown suffered a fractured skull and saw him further ridiculed, abused, and embarrassed. but this eagerness to strengthen doubtful pretensions by possession, does not accord with the spirit of justice that characterizes the other political acts of the United States."[23]. [15], On September 4, 1817, two of MacGregor's officers resigned. [6] Skipwith and several of his unreconciled legislators then departed for the fort at Baton Rouge, rather than surrender the country unconditionally and without terms. He feared if he did not move, West Florida could fall into unfriendly hands, as a considerable part of the population had previously been British subjects. [60] The governor and lieutenant governor are elected on the same ticket.[54]. Juan Joseph de la Torres (interim), 1717-1718, Nicols Ximnez de Florencia (interim), 1740-1741, Nicols Ximnez de Florencia (interim), 1752-1753, Miguel Romn de Castilla y Lugo, 1757-1761, The Governors of British Florida, 1763-1781/1783. [6], Skipwith later expressed his gratitude at the result of the intervention, but he criticized bitterly the method by which Madison and Claiborne had brought it about. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Florida Legislature, to convene the legislature and grant pardons, except in cases of impeachment.. Sebastin Kindelan y Oregn, governor of East Florida. What territorial transfers in the South resulted from the French and Indian War? Before taking his small force down into the Florida territory, MacGregor sent an agent in disguise to sow fear amongst the citizens of Amelia Island and the garrison at Fort San Carlos. What was the outcome? In the treaty terms, British citizens of the colony had eighteen months to vacate the territory. West Florida extended from the Apalachicola to the Mississippi and Lake Pontchartrain, and north to latitude 31; but the northern boundary was afterward made latitude . Both colonies also declined an invitation to send delegates to the Continental Congress.
Alonso Fernndez de Heredia(April 18, 1755-April 21, 1758)
During the years of slavery and misery their number had been reduced to six hundred. of the 104th Regiment was governor of Florida for a little more than a decade, that is, from March 1, 1774, until in June, 1784, when the Spanish governor. Andrs Rodrguez de Villegas(June 23, 1630-September 21, 1631)
Juan de Salinas(August 2, 1618-October 28, 1624)
Its first sentence reads: "I have the satisfaction to inform Congress, that the establishment at Amelia Island has been suppressed, and without the effusion of blood."
The nomination of Duval's successor says his commission would expire on April 17, 1834. With the advent of hostilities, Thomas Brown, who had been run out of Georgia do to his refusal to take up arms against the crown. When peace was established with the Treaty of Paris in 1783, Florida was returned to Spanish control which had lost it after the conclusion of the French and Indian War, exactly twenty years earlier.
Growth and Prosperity. In 1767, a Scotchman, Dr. Andrew Turnbull, one of the governor's council, formed a company to bring out settlers from Minorca and other islands of the Mediterranean to cultivate the vine, fig, olive, and indigo. The colonial governors of Florida governed Florida during its colonial period (before 1821). [13] In July, a Spanish force advanced on Amelia island but was repulsed by the guns on MacGregor's vessels anchored in the harbor. Top of page. Spanish troops under Bernardo de Glvez advanced and seized Baton Rouge and Mobile. Grant also encouraged settlers from North and South Carolina, Georgia, and other British colonies to come and start plantations, or large farms. They remained under Spanish control until 1811 (Mississippi portion) and April 1813 (Alabama portion):[3]. "[8], Claiborne and Holmes had to contend with the armed force under Thomas and the fact that those in control were determined not to submit to the United States without terms in regard to land titles and to refugees. What was the plan of the Turnbull colony? Spain sold Florida to the US on this day. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. After Claiborne refused to recognize the West Florida government, Skipwith and the legislature eventually agreed to accept Madison's annexation proclamation. Below are lists of all Florida governors throughout the entire colonial era, including the First Spanish Period (1565-1763), British Period (1763-1781/1783), and Second Spanish Period (1781/1783-1821), along with the governors of Louisiana while under Spanish control. The First Spanish governors listed below is based in large part on my own extensive direct work with original documents in the Archivo General de Indias, while the subsequent lists below are based principally on secondary sources, though occasionally adjusted based on my own research. While I do not claim that these are 100% accurate and complete, they should at least provide a useful list for anyone interested in the governorship of colonial Florida. I would encourage anyone with documentary evidence of any errors, omissions, or additions to contact me via email so I can continue to refine the list. This cession did not include West Florida. [1], Starting with the American Revolution, Florida was sought after by the United States. The East Florida Rangers were active in repelling advances toward Florida from Georgia and also fighting in two battles in East Florida. The following list includes data I have compiled between 1988 and 2007 regarding the official terms of the governors of colonial Spanish Florida, including royally-appointed governors (inbold)and interim governors (in regular type). No subordinate lieutenant governors are included in this list, though many are known to have governed during the temporary absence of the primary office-holder, or as provincial lieutenants in the various mission provinces. Dates of appointment are not included, though dates of installation and succession or death are provided to the level of specificity currently known. This information was compiled from a multiplicity of sources, initially based on published lists and then substantially revised over the course of many years based on information contained in a variety of primary documents. Consequently, even as Spain ceded all of Florida to the British under the terms of the 1763 Treaty of Paris, they maintained a broad presence immediately west of what had just become British Florida (extending at that point all the way to the Mississippi River). This became the modern State of Florida on March 3, 1845. [6]:308, Claiborne entered St. Francisville with a U.S. Army contingent of 300 from Fort Adams under Col. Leonard Covington[20][21][22] on December 6, 1810, and Baton Rouge on December 10, 1810. The first was at Thomas Creek on May 17, 1777 when they helped turn back an attempt by Georgia militia intent on taking St. Augustine. Its capital was located at St. Francisville, in present-day Louisiana on a bluff along the Mississippi River. In 1779 war was declared between England and Spain, and in August the governor of Louisiana invaded West Florida and took the forts on the Mississippi. East Florida (Spanish: Florida Oriental) was a colony of Great Britain from 1763 to 1783 and a province of Spanish Florida from 1783 to 1821. Who owned West Florida? He had led U.S. troops into Florida in 1814 during the War of 1812, seizing the city of Pensacola, capital of Spanish West Florida, and driving out a British squadron that was using the city and harbor as a base of operations to attack the American South. These conflicts included an insurrection in West Florida in 1810 and an unsuccessful attempt at a coup by the self-described Patriots in 1812 in East Florida. Two decades later, on March 3, 1845, Florida was admitted to the Union as the 27th U.S. state. Fifteen hundred colonists were brought out from Italy, Greece, Smyrna, and Minorca, and a colony called New Smyrna was founded at Mosquito Inlet. [7] On top of land investments, MacGregor also wished to become a governor in Florida, to further increase his prestige and wealth. Due to Ron DeSantis and Jeannette Nez taking their oath of office ahead of time, they became governor and lieutenant governor at midnight on January 8, rather than waiting for an inauguration ceremony. Gubernatorial lines of succession in the United States#Florida, "A Guide to Florida Governors and the Florida Cabinet", "Our Campaigns - Governor of Florida - History", "Our Campaigns - Governor of Florida (CSA) - History", "Mixson To Be Governor for 3 Days; Graham Will Quit Early so He Can Run for U.S. Senate Seat", "Andrew Jackson, Commissioner of the United States", "William Pope DuVal: Pioneer and State Builder", United States Government Publishing Office, Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, "All Governors of Territorial Florida had been Members of Congress", "Florida and the Civil War" A Short History", "Whig Party | History, Beliefs, Significance, & Facts", "Restoration of Civil Authority in Florida", "Can Crist Win in Florida as an Independent? What was her relation to the neighboring colonies? Florida was under colonial rule by Spain from the 16th century to the 19th century, and briefly by Great Britain during the 18th century (17631783) before becoming a territory of the United States in 1821. Before Florida was a state, it was a U.S. territory, and the governor was appointed by the President rather than elected by the people. Following the 1686 "rediscovery" of what was then christened as the "Bahia de Panzacola" along the northern Gulf of Mexico coastline far west of its Florida colony, and the subsequent maritime and terrestrial exploration of the bay in 1693, Spain finally established a permanent Spanish presence in Pensacola in 1698, administered as a presidio subordinate to New Spain and supplied principally through Veracruz, Mexico (and thus distinct from St. Augustine). The following governors served through various relocations/incarnations of the presidio, including Santa Mara de Galve (1698-1719), Bahia de San Joseph (1719-1722), Isla de Santa Rosa, Punta de Sigenza (1722-1756), and San Miguel de Panzacola (1756-1763). Why was Jackson sent back in the same area in 1817? Historian Daniel Schafer described Jackson's tenure as governor as "brief and tempestuous." U.S . Francisco de la Guerra y de la Vega(December 30, 1664-July 6, 1671)
[8] The rebels unfurled the flag of the new republic, a single white star on a blue field made by Melissa Johnson, wife of Major Isaac Johnson, commander of the Feliciana cavalry engaged in the attack. 4. acting governor of East Florida. Modern sources say Perry took office on January 7; Special election to fill the remainder of McCarty's term. Lieutenant governors represented the same party as their governor unless noted. From most accounts the land was claimed by the United States, governed by the Spanish, and inhabited by the French and English with a sprinkling of other European settlers. Despite its name, none of the Republic of West Florida was within the borders of the present-day state of Florida, but rather entirely within the present borders of Louisiana. Pedro de Olivera y Fullana(July 13-October 30, 1716)
The population of the Baton Rouge District was almost exclusively Anglo-American with a substantial number of Tory immigrants of the revolutionary period. Manuel Joseph de Justs (March 12-September 11, 1737)
", "DeSantis already governor when ceremony begins", Governors and executives of U.S. states and territories, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_governors_of_Florida&oldid=1167073006, Lists of state governors of the United States, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 4.0, This page was last edited on 25 July 2023, at 14:24. Thus, in 1853 when Governor Thomas Brown attended an event in Bostonthe Senate president who would normally succeed the governor at the time was also out of state. What territory was then held by each of the three European nations connected with Florida history? [11] He also had commissions and claimed to be fighting on behalf of Venezuela and Mexico, further obfuscating his intentions and that of the United States. From 1783 until 1821 West Florida belonged to Spain. The Republic of the Floridas, also called Republic of Floridas, was a short-lived attempt, from June to December 1817, to establish an independent Florida (the plural "Floridas" refers to the separate provinces of East Florida and West Florida, then Spanish territory). Florida was a strongly Democratic state before the Civil War, electing only one candidate from the Whig Party (the Democrats' chief opposition at the time). Britain and Spain During the American Revolution The British had divided Florida into East and West Florida, so along with Nova Scotia, Great Britain had sixteen American colonies. [24][25] Following that Congressional declaration of annexation[26] and an act of February 12, 1813,[27] (3 Stat. Since statehood in 1845, there have been 45 people who have served as governor, one of whom served two distinct terms. Fulgencio Garca de Sols(June 3, 1752-April 18, 1755)
In addition, Indigo plantations were also established. Spains late entry on the French side placed it on the losing end of the terms in the Treaty of Paris in 1763.With the acquisition of new lands to the south of the colony of Georgia, England established two new colonies in Florida. Britain divides the colony into East and West Florida . Thru' the world shall be respected, Best of all, for people whose liberty was dear to them, the governors were directed to call general assemblies as soon as possible, to make laws for the colonies. The two governors took steps to prepare the minds of the people to receive them and at the same time to overwhelm possible opposition by a show of force. Joseph de Zuiga y Cerda(1699-April 9, 1706)
With our capitol in St. Augustine, the first British governor was Major Francis Ogilvie who acted as temporary governor until the first civil governor, General James Grant, arrived a year later from South Carolina. With poor road transportation and an enormous voyage around the Florida Keys, the new arrangement of two separate colonies allowed more effective administration than the Spanish system. After 20 years of British rule, however, Florida was returned to Spain as part of the second Treaty of Paris, which ended the American Revolution in 1783. The boundaries of the Republic of West Florida included all territory south of parallel 31N, east of the Mississippi River, and north of the waterway formed by the Iberville River, Amite River, Lake Maurepas, Pass Manchac, Lake Pontchartrain, and the Rigolets.
Juan Fernndez de Olivera(1610-November 23, 1612)
Twenty years later, at the conclusion of the American Revolutionary War in 1783, Spain received both East and West Florida from Great Britain. In 1800, under duress from Napoleon of France, Spain ceded Louisiana and the island of New Orleans back to France, which promised to return them to Spain should France ever relinquish them. He served for 17 days. [14], Due to setbacks, the revolutionary forces suffered from desertions and by August 1817 were reduced to less than one hundred men. Q: When did Europeans first come to Florida? The Supreme Court eventually sided with Reed, and Gleason was removed from office. In East Florida, St. Augustine would send north British soldiers to assist in operations in Georgia and South Carolina and also house American prisoners, including three Signers of the Declaration of Independence; Arthur Middleton, Edward Rutledge, and Thomas Heyward, Jr. Other prisoners, both Americans and French were also confined to the town too. The United States and Spain held long negotiations regarding the northern border of West Florida, concluding with Pinckney's Treaty in 1795. It was not until 1821 that Florida joined the former British colonies as part of the United States. Their objectives was to provide security to the East Florida colony and were initially a mounted organization to provide better mobility. She remained under British rule through the Revolutionary War, and gave refuge to many English sympathizers f from Georgia and South Carolina.
[12] MacGregor eventually gathered a force of roughly 150 men, mostly from Charleston. As part of the 1783 Peace of Paris, Great Britain ceded the territories of West Florida and East Florida back to Spain. Pablo de Hita Salazar(May 3, 1675-September 28, 1680)
Florida exchanged for the Bahama Islands. During that time they were to work for the company, and at the end were to receive enough land for their support. 1 / 19 Flashcards Learn Test Match Created by Barone_KaleyTeacher Florida Studies Weekly Terms in this set (19) Westernmost county in Florida Escambia The British governor of west Florida Johnstone A Florida County with Milton as it's county seat Santa Rosa The French came to Florida to escape religious _______. The first was at Thomas Creek on May 17, 1777 when they helped turn back an attempt by Georgia militia intent on taking St. Augustine. The first British governor of West Florida was a Scot, George Johnstone, who ruled from 1763 to 1766; he was followed by Governor John Elliott, who was a suicide; in 1770 Peter Chester took charge and was the eye and the instrument of the British crown until West Florida was wrested from England by force in 1779-1780. Student Visa Canada for Colombians Steps and Requirements, Student visa Canada for Peruvians < Types < Cost < Advice, Famous English Phrases Learn English Easily, What is celebrated on Halloween? The marching song of the West Floridian army included these lyrics in verse six: West Floriday, that lovely nation, [14] On March 11, 1811, rebellious elements again raised the Lone Star flag of the West Florida Republic, forcing Governor Claiborne to dispatch troops to enforce his authority. St. Augustine, Florida was founded by Spanish explorers long before Jamestown and the Plymouth Colony. [47] Florida was readmitted to the Union on June 25, 1868. With what result? 2. General Campbell was in command at Pensacola with a thousand men, and besides there were two garrisoned forts. . Pedro de Ybarra(October 20, 1603-1610)
Diego de Quiroga y Losada(August 20, 1687-September 21, 1693)
Lus de Rojas y Borja(October 28, 1624-June 23, 1630)
The Governors of British Florida, 1763-1781/1783.
After disembarking, MacGregor and 55 musketeers surrounded Fort San Carlos and the garrison surrendered without a shot fired. Benito Ruz de Salazar Vallecilla(April 10, 1645-April 11, 1646)
In his inaugural address, Skipwith mentioned the possibility of annexation to the United States: wherever the voice of justice and humanity can be heard, our declaration and our just rights will be respected. When thirteen North American colonies rebelled against the British crown, the future state of Florida was not part of that movement.