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British West Florida was a colony of the Kingdom of Great Britain from 1763 until 1783, when it was ceded to Spain as part of the Peace of Paris. British West Florida comprised parts of the modern U.S. states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. Effective British control ended in 1781 when Spain captured Pensacola.
In the British period West Florida's northern border was initially set at the 31st parallel north but was moved to 32° 28′ in 1767 [2]: 2 in order to give the West Floridians more territory, including the Natchez District and the Tombigbee District. Spain insisted that its West Florida claim extended fully to 32° 28′, but the United ...
The area known as West Florida was originally claimed by Spain as part of La Florida, which included most of what is now the southeastern United States.Spain made several attempts to conquer and colonize the area, notably including Tristán de Luna's short-lived settlement in 1559, but it was not settled permanently until the 17th century, with the establishment of missions to the Apalachee.
Following Spain's losses to Great Britain during the Seven Years' War, Spain ceded its Florida territory to Britain in 1763.British administrators then divided the territory into two colonies: East Florida, including the Florida peninsula with the capital at St. Augustine, and West Florida, to which was appended part of the territory received from France under the 1763 peace treaty.
The British designated Pensacola as the capital of British West Florida and developed the mainland area of fort San Carlos de Barrancas, building the Royal Navy Redoubt. Surveyor and engineer Elias Durnford laid out the town in its current form, creating the Seville Square district. Working with Durnford was George Gauld, a British naval ...
U.S. researchers have concluded that the 17th-century remains of sunken British warship HMS Tyger rest below the surface in Dry Tortugas National Park. Researchers conclusively ID British warship ...
This cession did not include West Florida. In 1803, France then sold Louisiana and New Orleans to the United States in the Louisiana Purchase. [3] The U.S. claimed that West Florida was part of the Louisiana Purchase, a claim disputed by Spain, as it had controlled West Florida as a province separate from Spanish Louisiana since 1783.
A wrecked seagoing vessel discovered decades ago off the Florida Keys has recently been identified as a British warship that sank in the 18th century. National Park Service archaeologists used new ...