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'''Pensacola''' was under '''British''' control, and served as the capital of its West Florida territory, from [[1763]] until [[1781]]. | '''Pensacola''' was under '''British''' control, and served as the capital of its West Florida territory, from [[1763]] until [[1781]]. | ||
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===British acquisition=== | ===British acquisition=== | ||
[[Image:West Florida Map 1767.jpg|thumb|right|British West Florida in [[1767]]]] | [[Image:West Florida Map 1767.jpg|thumb|right|British West Florida in [[1767]]]] | ||
− | Great Britain came into possession of Pensacola, and the rest of Florida, as a result of the [[Wikipedia:Treaty of Paris (1763)|Treaty of Paris]] (1763), which ended the [[Wikipedia:French and Indian War|French and Indian War]], the North American component of the wider [[Wikipedia:Seven Years' War|Seven Years' War]]. Britain organized its new holdings into two territories: '''East Florida''', which comprised modern Florida east of the [[Wikipedia:Apalachicola River|Apalachicola River]], with its capital at Saint Augustine; and '''West Florida''', which comprised the portions of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida that laid south of the [[Wikipedia:31st parallel north|31st parallel]] and between the Mississippi and Apalachicola Rivers. In [[1764]], the British moved the northern boundary up to 32° | + | Great Britain came into possession of Pensacola, and the rest of Florida, as a result of the [[Wikipedia:Treaty of Paris (1763)|Treaty of Paris]] (1763), which ended the [[Wikipedia:French and Indian War|French and Indian War]], the North American component of the wider [[Wikipedia:Seven Years' War|Seven Years' War]]. Britain organized its new holdings into two territories: '''East Florida''', which comprised modern Florida east of the [[Wikipedia:Apalachicola River|Apalachicola River]], with its capital at Saint Augustine; and '''West Florida''', which comprised the portions of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida that laid south of the [[Wikipedia:31st parallel north|31st parallel]] and between the Mississippi and Apalachicola Rivers. In [[1764]], the British moved the northern boundary up to 32° 22′ north, absorbing the southern thirds of modern-day Mississippi and Alabama. |
− | Britain took official possession of Pensacola on [[August 7]], [[1763]], when a Captain Wills of the Third Battery of the Royal Artillery | + | Britain took official possession of Pensacola on [[August 7]], [[1763]], when a Captain Wills of the Third Battery of the Royal Artillery received it from the Spanish commandant. On [[September 3]] Spain evacuated the last of its troops.<ref>Hamilton, Peter J. [http://books.google.com/books?id=_0wUAAAAYAAJ&printsec=titlepage#PPA399,M1 "British West Florida"]. ''Publications of the Mississippi Historical Society''. Oxford, Miss.: 1903.</ref> |
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===Revolutionary War=== | ===Revolutionary War=== | ||
In the early 1770s, British colonists in North America began to rebel against Britain, eventually declaring their independence as the United States of America in 1775. Britain, determined not to lose its valuable colonies, attempted to regain them by force, initiating the [[Wikipedia:American Revolutionary War|American Revolutionary War]]. In [[1778]], hoping to undermine British world power, France entered the war on the side of the United States. | In the early 1770s, British colonists in North America began to rebel against Britain, eventually declaring their independence as the United States of America in 1775. Britain, determined not to lose its valuable colonies, attempted to regain them by force, initiating the [[Wikipedia:American Revolutionary War|American Revolutionary War]]. In [[1778]], hoping to undermine British world power, France entered the war on the side of the United States. | ||
− | In [[1779]], France and Spain signed | + | In [[1779]], France and Spain signed [[Wikipedia:Treaty of Aranjuez (1779)|Treaty of Aranjuez]]. Although Spain did not recognize the United States, it agreed under the terms of the treaty to aid France in its war against Britain. |
− | ===Spain | + | ===Spain takes Pensacola=== |
− | + | On [[March 9]], [[1781]], Spanish Field Marshal [[Bernardo de Gálvez]] began an amphibious siege of Pensacola. The siege lasted for two months before Gálvez took the town on [[May 8]]. Later that year, British forces under General Charles Cornwallis surrendered to American forces at [[Wikipedia:Siege of Yorktown|Yorktown]], essentially ending the land war, although British and French naval forces continued to battle at sea. The war officially ended with the [[Wikipedia:Treaty of Paris (1783)|Treaty of Paris]] ([[1783]]), at which time Britain ceded East and West Florida to Spain. | |
− | On [[March 9]], [[1781]], Spanish Field Marshal [[Bernardo de Gálvez]] began an amphibious | ||
==British occupation== | ==British occupation== | ||
===City plan=== | ===City plan=== | ||
[[Image:1778PurcellPlan.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Joseph Purcell's 1778 plan of the city]] | [[Image:1778PurcellPlan.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Joseph Purcell's 1778 plan of the city]] | ||
− | In [[1764]], British civil engineer [[Elias Durnford]] surveyed the town and laid out a street grid which remains mostly preserved to the present day. British Pensacola centered on a large public space which included modern-day [[Plaza Ferdinand VII]], [[Seville Square]] and the space between the two (the area which today lies between [[Palafox Street|Palafox]] and [[Alcaniz Street]]s and south of [[Intendencia Street]]). The water line at that time was located approximately where [[Main Street]] lies today. Within the public space was | + | In [[1764]], British civil engineer [[Elias Durnford]] surveyed the town and laid out a street grid which remains mostly preserved to the present day. British Pensacola centered on a large public space which included modern-day [[Plaza Ferdinand VII]], [[Seville Square]] and the space between the two (the area which today lies between [[Palafox Street|Palafox]] and [[Alcaniz Street]]s and south of [[Intendencia Street]]). The water line at that time was located approximately where [[Main Street]] lies today. Within the public space was a large fort. |
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− | + | ==Administration== | |
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During the course of the British occupation, the five successive Crown-appointed governors of West Florida took up residence in Pensacola: | During the course of the British occupation, the five successive Crown-appointed governors of West Florida took up residence in Pensacola: | ||
*[[George Johnstone]] (1763-1767) | *[[George Johnstone]] (1763-1767) | ||
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*[[Peter Chester]] (1770-1781) | *[[Peter Chester]] (1770-1781) | ||
− | + | Johnston, Pensacola's first British governor, became unpopular with settlers due to his faithful enforcement of unpopular British policies such as the [[Wikipedia:Stamp Act 1765|Stamp Act]]. He caused further discord with his policy of aggression toward Indians, and under pressure either resigned or was recalled in late [[1766]] or early [[1767]]. The lieutenant governor, [[Montfort Browne]], served as governor until his replacement, [[John Eliot]], arrived. Eliot was delayed in England and did not arrive in Pensacola until [[1769]]. However, Eliot was affected by a strange malady, possibly a brain tumor, and committed suicide shortly after arriving in Pensacola. [[Elias Durnford]] served as governor until Eliot's replacement, [[Peter Chester]], arrived in [[1770]]. | |
===British placenames=== | ===British placenames=== | ||
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|[[Zaragoza Street]], west of the public space (west of modern-day [[Palafox Street]]) | |[[Zaragoza Street]], west of the public space (west of modern-day [[Palafox Street]]) | ||
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− | | | + | |Butt Street |
|[[Government Street]], east of the public space (east of modern-day [[Alcaniz Street]]) | |[[Government Street]], east of the public space (east of modern-day [[Alcaniz Street]]) | ||
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|Gloucester Street | |Gloucester Street | ||
|[[Cevallos Street]] | |[[Cevallos Street]] | ||
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|Harcourt Street | |Harcourt Street | ||
|[[Intendencia Street]], east of the public space (east of modern-day [[Alcaniz Street]]) | |[[Intendencia Street]], east of the public space (east of modern-day [[Alcaniz Street]]) | ||
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|Johnstone Street | |Johnstone Street | ||
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|Princess Street | |Princess Street | ||
|[[Romana Street]] | |[[Romana Street]] | ||
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|Sandy Point | |Sandy Point | ||
|''[[Town Point]]'' | |''[[Town Point]]'' | ||
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|York Street | |York Street | ||
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==Other images== | ==Other images== | ||
<gallery> | <gallery> | ||
+ | Image:1764Plan.jpg|''A Plan of the Harbour of Pensacola in West-Florida'', 1764 | ||
Image:1767Plan.jpg|''A Plan of the Town of Pensacola'', 1767 | Image:1767Plan.jpg|''A Plan of the Town of Pensacola'', 1767 | ||
Image:Map1780.jpg|''A Chart of the Bay and Harbour of Pensacola, in the Province of West Florida'', 1780 | Image:Map1780.jpg|''A Chart of the Bay and Harbour of Pensacola, in the Province of West Florida'', 1780 |