# War of 1812 & A Q re Florida **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [October 15, 2006, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-of-1812-a-q-re-florida/376518 "2006-10-15T13:31:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2006, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-of-1812-a-q-re-florida/376518/1 "2006-10-15T13:31:29Z")
Late in Cecil’s thread [http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mwar1812.htm](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mwar1812.htm) about who won the War of 1812, Cecil mentions that America had its eye on taking Florida from Spain (after the war). Yet, I believe it is Wikipedia, for one, that explains the British took Florida from Spain during the Seven Years War (French and Indian War). I’ll have to find a link to this, but what do the SDopers know about who held Florida? And, if the latter is true, why didn’t it join the other 13 colonies? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2006, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-of-1812-a-q-re-florida/376518/2 "2006-10-15T14:00:16Z")
Actually, that report was written by **Gfactor**. There’s a discussion of it [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=391578). ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2006, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-of-1812-a-q-re-florida/376518/3 "2006-10-15T14:33:48Z")
Since this is a comment on a Straight Dope Staff Report by SDSTAFF Gfactor and not a Straight Dope column by Cecil Adams, I’ll move this thread to the Comments on Staff Reports forum. bibliophage moderator CCC ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2006, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-of-1812-a-q-re-florida/376518/4 "2006-10-15T17:15:34Z")
Spain held Florida at the time of the War of 1812, but Spain’s grip was very weak, and the British maintained a presence there. In theory, it was an “alliance,” but Spain couldn’t have kept the British out of Florida if they’d wanted to. Spain cooperated with the British in keeping the Creeks/Seminoles supplied with weapons for use against Americans. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2006, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-of-1812-a-q-re-florida/376518/5 "2006-10-16T00:48:15Z")
Here is a paper (warning pdf format) that talks all about Florida in the War of 1812. As you might imagine, it also talks about those who sought to possess it, to some extent: Stagg, J.C.A., “James Madison and George Mathews: The East Florida Revolution of 1812 Reconsidered,” 30 Diplomatic History 23 (2006): [http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1467-7709.2006.00536.x?cookieSet=1](http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1467-7709.2006.00536.x?cookieSet=1) This is a review of a book on the other war of 1812 (the one in Florida): [News Articles - FindArticles](http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3880/is_200410/ai_n9434064) The book reviewed is: _The Other War of 1812: The Patriot War and the American Invasion of Spanish East Florida_. By James G. Cusick. New Perspectives on the History of the South. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2003. xvi, 370 pp. $55.00. ISBN 0-8130-2648-2. Here is another review of Cusick’s book: [http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.cgi?path=234941093870567](http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.cgi?path=234941093870567) Simple summary: > [@](#): > > In 1812, Spain owned Florida. Spain was an ally of Britain. The friendship between Spain and Britain made many people in the U.S. nervous. Even though Spain was allied with Britain, Spain promised to stay out of any conflict between Britain and the U.S. Despite Spain’s promise, many people in the border state of Georgia still felt threatened. They were afraid that Spain would help Britain at-tack America. Also, Spain recruited black soldiers. The state of Georgia feared that Spain would en-courage Georgia’s slaves to start a war. Then, five wealthy men from Spanish Florida met with a man named General George Matthews. General Mat-thews was a former Georgia governor and Revolu-tionary War veteran. The Floridians talked about the possibility of selling Florida to the U.S. Eventually, the Floridians abandoned the plan. General Mat-thews did not. General Matthews started a war with Florida. That war was called the Patriot War. from here: [http://www.thehistoryworkshop.com/educators/pdf/pointpeter/pwreading.pdf](http://www.thehistoryworkshop.com/educators/pdf/pointpeter/pwreading.pdf) More stuff here: [Fort Mose Historic Site](http://fortmose.com/patriot_war.html) (discussing the role of Fort Mose in the war) (a lot of good detail) Even more here: [http://tfn.net/~cdk901/Counties/c4alac2.htm](http://tfn.net/~cdk901/Counties/c4alac2.htm) Here is a nice history of West Florida’s various owners and the disputes that the transfers caused: > [@](#): > > After the American Revolution the British ceded Florida back to Spain, but without clear definition of its boundaries. A controversy immediately developed over the northern boundary of West Florida. The Spanish demanded the 1764 line; the United States insisted on the old line of 31°N. The issue was settled by Pinckney’s Treaty (1795), in which Spain recognized the American claim. With the transfer of Louisiana from Spain to France and its subsequent purchase (1803) by the United States, another dispute over West Florida’s boundaries developed. Based on the treaty of cession with France, which did not specify the boundaries of the Louisiana Purchase, the United States claimed that part of West Florida (between the Perdido and the Mississippi rivers) that had been part of Louisiana before 1763. The Spanish insisted that Louisiana, as held and administered by them, had not included this area. Lengthy and inconclusive negotiations ensued. At the same time American settlers moved into the area and resisted Spanish control. > **[West Florida Controversy | Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/reference/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/west-florida-controversy)** > > West Florida Controversy, conflict between Spain and the United States concerning possession of Florida. By the Treaty of Paris of 1763, Britain received Florida from Spain, and from France that portion of Louisiana lying between the Mississippi and...