Spanish History of Florida

Florida was originally inhabited by several different native tribes such as the Ais, Calusa, and Tocobago. Florida is the longest surviving name of the state, which was the name given it by Juan Ponce de Leon, a Spanish conquistador who originally went hunting for the Fountain of Youth but ended up discovering Florida, which he named in honor of his discovery 6 days after Easter, or Pascua Florida, because the land was in full bloom at the time of his discovery.

Over the next few centuries France and Spain both established settlements in Florida with varying success. The Spanish colony of Pensacola, while it did not last, was the first European settlement in America and after being abandoned in 1561, was not re-inhabited until the 1690s. The French learned of the Spanish settlement of St. Augustine the leader of Fort Caroline set out to sack the city and drive the Spanish out of their stronghold. En route to Augustine however the French were hit by a powerful storm which waylaid them and allowed the Spanish time to sack Fort Caroline and remove the French threat to St. Augustine from Florida.

Throughout the first periods of Spanish control of Florida they did not have complete control of the state, and they relied on the support of local tribes, whom were being converted to Christianity, to maintain control of the region. The local leaders of the tribes proved their loyalty to the Spaniards by converting the Roman Catholicism and allowing Franciscan friars and priests into their villages.

After the English began settling to the north and the French to the west of Florida, the area of Spanish Florida diminished in size, which was accompanied by a decrease in Spanish power in Florida caused by the English whom were arming Creek Indians with firearms and asking them to raid the client tribes of the Spanish. The English also attacked St. Augustine several times, burning the city and the cathedral several times while the citizens hid in the Castillo de San Marcos.

The Spanish encouraged slaves to flee the English-held Carolinas and to come to Florida. where they became Catholics and were given their freedom. The freed slaves settled in a buffer colony to the north of St. Augustine, the first completely black settlement in what would become the United States.

Through the Treaty of Paris in 1763 the English gained control of Florida diplomatically. Upon taking control of Florida the British divided Florida into two areas, East Florida and West Florida. East Florida had it’s capital at St. Augustine, while West Florida has it’s capital at Pensacola. Britain attempted to develop Florida through importation of immigrants for labor, some from Minorca and Greece, though this ultimately failed.

After the British defeat in the American Revolution, Spain, one of the new country’s allies in the war, regained control of the Floridas. They offered land grants to anyone whom would move to the colonies and many Americans moved there, attracted by the climate, the land, and by the promise of great wealth from cash crops.

Eventually, Spanish-American relations began to break down, beginning with the raids by Seminole Indians on Georgian settlements, whom were supported by the Spanish. These raids inevitably led to the First Seminole War, led by Andrew Jackson, one of America’s future presidents. Following this war, America effectively controlled East Florida. In 1819, by terms of the Adams-Onís Treaty Spain ceded Florida to America in exchange for 5 million dollars and the renunciation of any American claims on Texas.