The Republic of West Florida is a short-lived, unrecognized state that existed on the north coast of the Gulf of Mexico in 1810.
| Historical state | |||
| State of florida | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| English State of florida | |||
| |||
 Changing Territory of West Florida | |||
←   →September 23 - December 10, 1810 | |||
| Capital | St francisville | ||
| Form of government | republic | ||
In 1783, for helping the rebel colonies in their struggle against Great Britain, Spain received the West Florida colony back, however, due to the fact that during the British rule the borders of the colony were changed, there was a problem with the exact establishment of its borders. In particular, when in 1803 the United States acquired Louisiana from France , the problem of the western border of Western Louisiana arose: according to the Spaniards, the Mississippi River was the western border of the colony, while the Americans believed that they had acquired land from France and the land between the Mississippi and Perdido rivers.
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 living there were also weighed by the rule of the Spaniards. Beginning in June 1810, discontented meetings began, and on September 23, 1810, rebels in Baton Rouge got the better of the Spanish garrison and raised the flag of the new republic - a white star on a blue field. The rebels wrote a Constitution based on the US Constitution, according to which the name of the state was "The State of Florida." The power was divided into legislative, executive and judicial. The legislative assembly consisted of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Legislative Assembly elected a governor - it was , who had previously been a party to the acquisition of Louisiana.
The United States did not recognize the self-proclaimed republic, but decided to use the situation to resolve a long-standing territorial dispute. On October 27, 1810, US President James Madison announced the annexation of West Florida up to the Perdido River on the grounds that these lands were part of Louisiana purchased from France. Annexed lands were included in the Orleans territory . Orleans Territory Governor William Claiborne arrived with troops in Saint Francisville on December 6, 1810, and Baton Rouge on December 10. The government of West Florida wanted to discuss the conditions for the republic to join the Union of States, but Claiborne refused to recognize his authority, and his members had no choice but to put up with annexation.
Under the rule of Spain remained only the land between the rivers Pearl and Perdido , which the Americans occupied in 1812 during the Anglo-American war . The Spaniards finally recognized the entry of these lands into the United States in 1819.