The American Conquest of the Floridas, 1783-1821
When the United States gained its independence in 1783 its southern and western
boundaries came in contact with those of Spanish Florida. This province was split into
West Florida and East Florida with the Perdido River separating the two.1 From the
Georgia coast west to the Mississippi River the United States and Spain shared a sparsely
settled border that was almost impossible to control. Because the United States was an
aggressive, growing country and Spain a declining European power the United States
held an immense advantage in determining who would eventually control the region.
Americans easily slipped across the border into East and West Florida and the two
Spanish colonies quickly found themselves Americanized.
Spain attempted to assimilate the immigrants in the hope that they could use the
increasing population of the province to strengthen its hold on the colony and make it
worth the cost of administering the Floridas. Spain also tried to form confederations with
local Indian tribes to create a barrier to further immigration. As another measure to stem
American immigration, the Spanish closed the port of New Orleans to American trade.2
This move infuriated Americans living west of the Appalachians because it prevented
them from shipping their goods down river. Many westerners argued that New Orleans
should be seized by force to open the river to American trade. Because West Florida
encompassed the eastern bank of the Mississippi, it would most likely fall to the
Americans in such an attack.
In 1795, Spain signed the Treaty of San Lorenzo, which gave the United States
the right to export goods out of New Orleans and fixed the boundary between Florida and
1
Rembert Patrick. Florida Fiasco: Rampant Rebels on the Georgia-Florida Border, 1810-1815. (Athens:
University of Georgia Press, 1954) p. 23.
2
David Weber. The Spanish Frontier in North America. (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1992) p.279.
the United States at thirty one degrees latitude.3 This treaty was meant to fix the problems
between Spain and the United States and set a permanent boundary between the two.
Ironically Spain was weakened by the treaty because it could no longer hope to foster a
rebellion in the western states or forge a strong Indian alliance to halt American settlers
spreading west.
In 1802, Spain ceded Louisiana to its powerful neighbor France. In 1803, France
sold Louisiana to the United States. This transfer threatened the security of West Florida
because its western parishes and the outpost of Baton Rouge were perilously close to
United States territory. In addition to this, the United States claimed that Louisiana also
encompassed the portion of West Florida from the Mississippi to the Perdido River;
therefore most of West Florida belonged to the United States.4 The fate of part of this
disputed territory was decided on September 23, 1810 when the mostly American
population revolted and easily overthrew the shaky Spanish administration in Baton
Rouge. All of West Florida between the Mississippi and the Pearl Rivers was free of
Spanish control. The United States immediately claimed the rebellious parishes as part of
the United States and took over its administration. In 1813, as part of the War of 1812,
General James Wilkinson seized the remainder of West Florida to prevent it being used
by the British to attack the United States.5
East Florida also had problems keeping Americans out and was constantly at odds
with Georgia over its boundary. Americans frequently immigrated to East Florida and the
colony was mostly Americanized by the War of 1812. In 1812, Americans rebelled
against the Spanish and controlled the northeastern corner of the colony. But Spanish
3
Patrick, Florida Fiasco, p. 218.
Patrick, Florida Fiasco, p.23.
5
Webber, The Spanish Frontier in America, p.297.
4
officials in St. Augustine successfully defeated the rebellion in 1813. In 1817, another
rebellion began on the Georgia-East Florida border. In response to this the United States
seized Amelia Island, which was the center of rebel activity. In 1818, an American militia
force led by General Andrew Jackson seized Pensacola, the province’s second largest
town and westernmost fort. Recognizing that it could not prevent the colony from being
consumed by the United States, Spain agreed to sell East Florida on February 22, 1819.6
With that transfer the United States finally gained control over the remainder of the
Atlantic Coast and the Gulf of Mexico east of the Mississippi River.
The American acquisition of Florida was a gradual process in which the growing
and aggressive new republic used settlers to flood its weak colonial neighbor. Once the
Floridas were Americanized the United States took advantage of revolts in the area to
bring military and diplomatic pressure on Spain to relinquish control of the colonies one
portion at a time. This process allowed the United States to acquire a large amount of
land with little expense and bloodshed.
6
Patrick, Florida Fiasco. p. 301.