West Florida ( Spanish: Florida Occidental ) - a Spanish colony that existed in North America in the late XVIII - early XIX centuries.
| colony of spain | |||
| West florida | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Spanish Florida Occidental | |||
| |||
 Changing Territory of West Florida | |||
←   → →1783 - 1821 | |||
| Capital | Pensacola | ||
| Form of government | monarchy | ||
In 1763, at the end of the Seven Years War , Spain transferred a colony of Florida to Great Britain under the terms of a peace treaty . Under the terms of the same treaty, France transferred the territory of Louisiana east of the Mississippi River to Great Britain. Britain considered that the newly acquired territory was too large for effective management, and divided it along the Apalachicola River into two colonies: East Florida and West Florida .
In 1779, in accordance with the Aranjue Treaty, Spain entered the war for US independence on the side of France and the United States. In 1783, in accordance with the terms of the peace treaty, Great Britain returned both Florida to Spain. Spain preferred to maintain the division of the territory introduced by the British into two separate colonies. However, the agreement did not set exact boundaries, which caused problems.
Initially, the 31st parallel was the northern border of British West Florida, but in 1764 the British authorities decided to give settlers more territory, and shifted the northern border of West Florida to a latitude of 32 ° 22 ′. The Spaniards insisted that the latitude 32 ° 22 ′ should be the northern border of their returned colony, but U.S. officials claimed that the land between latitudes 31 ° 00 ′ and 32 ° 22 ′ was always controlled by the British authorities, and therefore should rightfully belong to the United States. The dispute about the northern border was finally resolved in 1795, when it was held at the 31st parallel by the agreement in San Lorenzo.
In 1800, under a secret agreement, Spain returned to Louisiana of France, but again the borders were not defined in this agreement, so when in 1803 the United States bought Louisiana , the border dispute arose again: the United States made claims on the land between the Mississippi and Perdido rivers, but the Spaniards said they were part of a West Florida colony, and France did not surrender.
While a long debate was ongoing between Spain and the United States over West Florida, more and more American settlers entered this territory. The British settlers who lived there were also weighed down by the rule of the Spaniards, and on September 23, 1810 there was an uprising, as a result of which the Republic of West Florida was proclaimed. On October 27, 1810, US President James Madison announced the annexation of West Florida all the way to the Perdido River.
In 1810, the Spaniards managed to control the Mobile District , which included the lands of West Florida between the Pearl and Perdido rivers. This region was captured by the Americans in 1812 during the Anglo-American War , in which Spain participated as an ally of Great Britain, and is included in the Mississippi Territory .
In 1819, the Adams-Onis Treaty was signed between the United States and Spain, finally fixing Spain’s refusal from Florida in favor of the United States. That part of West Florida that was still formally Spanish was included in the Florida Territory created in 1822.