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Policy of the English Government for the Settlement of Florida - 1763-1779. The change of flags was excessively distasteful to the Spanish population of Florida. Apart from the feelings engendered by the long continuance of hostilities between themselves and the neighboring English colonies, there was the utter repugnance arising from religious prejudices and traditional animosities, extending back to the days of Henry VIII. The nineteenth article of the treaty between Spain and England provided that Great Britain should grant to the inhabitants of the countries ceded ''the liberty of the Catholic religion, and that his Britannic Majesty will, in consequence, give the most exact and the most effectual orders that his new Roman Catholic subjects may profess the worship of their religion according to the rites of the Roman Church, so far as the laws of Great Britain permit." His majesty further agreed that the Spanish inhabitants or others who have been subjects to the Catholic king in the said countries, may retire in all safety and freedom, etc. These guarantees, though in liberality and toleration far in advance of the principles and practice of the Catholic King of Spain, were insufficient to overcome the repugnance of the inhabitants to passing under the domination of England. On the 7th of October, 1763, the King of Great Britain, taking into consideration the extensive and valuable acquisitions in America secured to his crown by the treaty of the preceding year, issued a royal proclamation, in which he declared that, with the advice of his privy council, he had granted letters-patent, under the great seal, " to erect, within the countries and islands ceded and confirmed to us by the said treaty, four distinct and separate governments, styled and called by the names of Quebec, East Florida, West Florida, and Granada." The government of East Florida was declared to be bounded to the westward by the Gulf of Mexico and the Apalachicola River; to the northward, by a line drawn from that part of the said river where the Chattahoochee and Flint Rivers meet, to the source of the St. Mary's River, and by the course of the said river to the Atlantic Ocean; and to the eastward and southward, by the Gulf of Florida, including all islands within six leagues of the seacoast. The government of West Florida was declared to be bounded to the southward by the Gulf of Mexico, including all islands within six leagues of the sea-coast, from the river Apalachicola to Lake Pontchartrain; to the westward, by said lake, the Lake Maurepas, and the river Mississippi; to the northward, by a line drawn due east from that part of the river Mississippi which lies in thirty-one degrees (31°) of north latitude, to the river Apalachicola or Chattahoochee; and to the eastward, by said river. It will thus be seen that Florida in 1763 embraced all of the coast of Alabama, Mississippi, and a part of that of Louisiana. The letters-palent constituting the new governments gave express power and directions to the governors of the respective provinces, that, so soon as the state of the colonies would admit, they should, with the advice and consent of the members of their several councils, summon General Assemblies within their respective governments, in such manner and form as were used and directed in those colonies and provinces in America which were under the king's immediate government. Power was also given to the said governors, with the consent of the councils and the representatives of the people, to make laws for the public peace, welfare, and good government as nearly as might be agreeable to the laws of England, and under such regulations and restrictions as were used in other colonies; and until such assemblies could be called, the governors, with the assent of their respective councils, were authorized to establish courts of judicature in their respective colonies. This was the first admission of representative government within the bounds of Florida, and indicates the source of the unexampled prosperity which attended the efforts of Great Britain in the work of colonization. The narrow and autocratic regulations with which other powers had endeavored to regulate their colonial dependencies, and which were aggravated by the distance from the seat of power, gave no voice in the government to the colonists, and had a tendency to repress all enterprise and chill all public spirit. Colonies are usually increased by the favorable representations of their first settlers; and their opinions will be influenced, favorably or otherwise, quite as much by the institutions of a country as by its physical advantages. The Spanish system of colonial administration advanced none of the material interests of the country, and the government never treated the inhabitants as capable of self- government, but collected around its garrisoned posts a crowd of parasites and dependents, who were contented to live in safety under its protection, satisfied with salaries and petty employments. With the view of encouraging the speedy settlement of the newly-acquired territories, the English governors were empowered and directed to grant lands, without fee or reward, to such reduced officers as had served during the late war, and to such private soldiers as had been or should be disbanded in America, and were actually residing there, and should personally apply for such grants, subject, at the expiration of ten years, to the same quit-rents as other lands in the provinces in which they were granted, as also to the same conditions of cultivation and improvement. These grants were to be proportioned to the rank of the applicants. A field-officer was to receive five thousand acres ; a captain, three thousand; a subaltern or staff-officer, two thousand; every non-commissioned officer, two hundred acres; and every private soldier, fifty acres. At the period of the cession of Florida, the Spanish flag had floated over the city of St. Augustine for one hundred and ninety years. Within that period, the French had made settlements in Louisiana, and on the Mississippi from its mouth to the Falls of St. Anthony, and thence eastward along the great lakes to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, as well as on the Ohio and other principal rivers. The English had occupied the whole Atlantic seaboard with her colonies, which now comprised a population of nearly three millions. At the close of nearly two hundred years from her occupation of Florida, Spain occupied but little more territory than at the beginning; and the entire population of Florida at the time of the cession hardly exceeded six or seven thousand, and the interior of the country was almost as much of a wilderness as ever. The Spanish population was gathered within the towns of St. Augustine and Pensacola and Mobile, and hardly any agricultural population existed. The people were mostly dependents upon the military and civic employment of the government, and seem to have been greatly deficient in industry and enterprise. The change of government of course involved the loss of official employment, and this portion of the inhabitants withdrew at once to the West Indies and Mexico. The oppressive conduct of Major Ogilvie, who held the temporary command of the province immediately after its cession, is said to have had much influence upon the removal of the Spanish inhabitants, which was so complete that not more than five persons remained; and had it not been for the efforts of the commanding officer the retiring inhabitants would have destroyed every house and building in St. Augustine. The governor destroyed his fine garden, and the inhabitants before they left not only assumed to sell their houses in town, but the whole country, to a few I gentlemen who remained there for that purpose. (1) General James Grant was appointed the first English governor of East Florida in 1763, and proceeded to adopt the most salutary measures to promote the settlement of the province and to develop its resources. In a proclamation, issued in October, 1767, he especially refers to the great salubrity of the country and the extreme age which its inhabitants had attained. He refers also to the advantages which the climate offers for the production of indigo and the fruits and tropical productions of the West Indies. Under the impetus of the patronage of the government, attention was drawn to Florida, and emigration from the British Islands to its shores encouraged. Public roads were laid out, and so well constructed that they remain to this day the best roads in the State, and are still known as the "king's roads." Bounties were offered upon indigo, naval stores, etc., in order to stimulate their production. Pamphlets descriptive of the country were issued in England, and letters recounting its many advantages appeared in the newspaper publications of the day, and two or more works with engraved illustrations were issued from the press.(2) In the year 1765, a general council of the western tribes of Indians was held at Mobile, attended by the head-men and warriors of the Chickasaws and Choctaws, and by the British governor of West Florida. At this council a tariff of trade was settled to the satisfaction of the Indians. The road from Fort Barrington, on the St. Mary's, to St. Augustine, now called the King's Road, was constructed in 1765 by the subscription of several public- spirited gentlemen, among whom were Governors Grant and Moultrie, and Messrs. Forbes, Fish, Izard, Pinckney,Gerard, Walton, Manigault, Oswald, Huger, Henry, Laurens, Elliot, Murray, and others, names which indicate that the distinguished families of South Carolina bearing those names once belonged to Florida. (3) A considerable emigration, consisting of some forty families, went from Bermuda, in 1766, to Mosquito, with the purpose of applying themselves to ship-building. The fine groves of live-oak in that neighborhood had attracted the attention of the British government, and the abundant supply of ship-timber was considered among the most valuable fruits of the acquisition of Florida. An association was formed in London, at the head of which was Dr. Andrew Turnbu, a Scotch gentleman, having in view the settlement of the large and very valuable body of land lying near Mosquito Inlet. They proposed to accomplish this purpose by procuring settlers from the south of Europe and the Mediterranean islands of Minorca, etc., who, living in a similar climate, might successfully transplant to and cultivate the productions of their country on the rich lands of Florida. Sir William Duncan and Dr. Turnbull, at an expense of one hundred and sixty-six thousand dollars, brought from Smyrna, under indentures, fifteen hundred Greeks,' Italians, and Minorcans, who formed a settlement at Mosquito and called it New Smyrna. Their indentures required them, in consideration of the sums paid for their passage and support, to labor for the proprietors a certain number of years, at the end of which they were to be entitled to receive grants of land in proportion to the number of persons in their families. The location of the settlement was well chosen, on the line below the region of frost, situated upon a river abounding in fish, turtle, and oysters, with a rich and productive soil, in the hammocks bordered by pine ridges favorable to health. Much labor was expended in opening canals and ditches, and in making various permanent improvements, among which was the stone wharf which still remains. The operations of the colony were carried on with much system, and, it is said, with success. Indigo and sugar were the principal articles cultivated, but the vine and fig were planted. The settlement of the new town of Pensacola, upon the mainland, where it now stands, had been commenced by the Spanish inhabitants before the cession, and the old settlement on Santa Rosa Island almost entirely abandoned. The arrival of the English gave an impulse to the growth of the little city, and its being now made the capital of the colonial government of the province of West Florida, and the presence of a large garrison, for whose accommodation extensive barracks were constructed, made it a place of considerable importance. The expenditures of the British government in carrying on the government of West Florida during the last three years of the English occupation amounted to the large sum of four hundred and five thousand pounds. Those for East Florida, during the same period, were about one hundred and thirty-five thousand pounds. The expenditures of the Spanish government were for both provinces about one hundred and fifty thousand dollars per annum. The population of West Florida did not increase so rapidly as that of the eastern province, being more distant and less accessible from the Atlantic coast. There seems to have been the usual amount of provincial intrigue and local politics in West Florida, as in other small communities. (4) Published letters, written by officers of the garrison Pensacola, abound with unfavorable criticisms upon the place and its society. One is often forced to observe how apt persons composing such limited circles are to be engrossed with the petty details of their narrow limits, to exaggerate their inconveniences, magnify their own troubles, and gossip freely of their neighbors; imputing sometimes the grossest derelictions in morals upon mere conjecture, and illustrating in a thousand ways the weaknesses and infirmities of poor human nature. The history of every colony is replete with discussions, backbitings, jealousies, conspiracies, harsh oppression, unjustifiable revenge, and often bloody retribution. Exiled far from their homes, and requiring every alleviation of sympathy and mutual aid; the colonists oftentimes appeared to exhibit the spirit of the Evil One, increasing and embittering the unavoidable hardships and privations of their position. *5 Many writers have labored to frame a theoretical form of government which should be adapted to human society, wherein all the acknowledged evils and misfortunes of existing social organization should be remedied, the evil tendencies of human nature corrected, its good impulses excited, 'all that is venerable, good, and pure respected, virtue occupying high places, and the law of justice universally acknowledged. While these theorists might well say to their objectors that no sufficient test could be applied in the ' midst of old and organized societies, they would find it impossible to deny that in the settlements of the New World, where the fairest field existed for the successful reformation of the abuses of old societies, these evils became intensified, selfishness exhibiting itself as the main principle of action, and these new settlements were, for the most part, the most wretchedly disagreeable, unsatisfying, and miserable assemblages of people which could anywhere be found. Those who will carefully peruse the annals of our early colonial settlements will find abundant proof of these observations. Many grants of land were made in the province of West Florida in 1776, under the regulations established by the crown, and were mostly located along the banks of the rivers. An eminent naturalist, who visited Pensacola in the year 1778, says there were at that time some hundreds of houses. The palace of Governor Chester was a large stone edifice, surmounted with a tower, which had been built by the Spaniards. The city was defended by a large fortress, the plan of which was a tetragon, having at each corner a salient angle, and a small round tower was elevated one story above the curtains, upon which were placed the smaller cannon. The fort was constructed of timber : there were contained within the walls the council-chamber, office of records, an arsenal, and magazine, with lodgings for the garrison. (5) There were in the city many merchants and professional gentlemen, who occupied well-built houses. A fort also existed on the point of Santa Rosa Island, which defended the entrance to the harbor. General Grant continued to fill the office of governor of East Florida from 1763 to 1771, and, by his wise and judicious administration of public affairs, acquired the respect and affection of his people, as well as the confidence of the home government. During this period the colony received a large accession of inhabitants of the best class from Carolina, among whom was Major Moultrie, afterwards lieutenant-governor of the province, and William Drayton, Esq., who became chief-justice. Several English noblemen, among whom were Lords Granville, Hillsborough, Egmont, and Hawke, received large grants of land upon the condition of settlement and cultivation. Several gentlemen of fortune also procured land, upon the same conditions, among the most prominent of whom were Richard Oswald and Dennis Rolle. Mr. Oswald established a plantation on the Halifax River, at a place still known as Mount Oswald. Dennis Rolle, Esq., father of Lord Rolle, obtained from the British government a grant of forty thousand acres, and embarked in 1765 from England with one hundred families, intending to settle in Middle Florida near St. Mark's; but, being driven by stress of weather to enter the St. John's River, and wearied with having been a long time on shipboard, he decided to remain, and selected a location on the east side of the St. John's River, two or three miles above Pilatka, which he named Charlottia, (6) and made his settlement between this point and Dunn's Lake. After incurring very great expense, the settlement, owing to the bad management of his agents, was abandoned, and most of the settlers removed to Carolina. (7) Traces of the old settlement are still to be seen. There was a large plantation opened about the same time on the upper St. John's, known as Beresford, and still bearing that name, and another at Spring Garden. A colony of Scotch Highlanders made a settlement on the St. John's River, and afterwards removed to Georgia. .The cultivation of sugar-cane was begun on the Halifax River, and, under the fostering care of the British government, would, in the course of a few years, have become a very important staple of Florida. The colony established by Dr. Turnbull at New Smyrna in 1767 remained until 1776. Having put the land in a proper condition for cultivation, they turned their attention to the production of indigo, which then bore a high price in the London market. The net value of their first crop reached the sum of three thousand dollars ; but difficulties soon arose between the proprietors and the colonists, the latter alleging that the former had not complied with their agreements, and that they were restricted in the quantity of provisions allowed them, and otherwise treated with great tyranny and injustice. In 1769 an insurrection had taken place among them, in consequence of the infliction of severe punishments upon some of their number. The insurrection was put down, and the leaders brought to St. Augustine for trial : five of the number were convicted and sentenced to death, two of whom were pardoned by the governor, and a third was released upon the condition of his becoming the executioner of the remaining two. The Smyrna colony upon its establishment consisted of , fourteen hundred persons, but in nine years their numbers had become reduced, by sickness, to about six hundred. In the year 1776, two of their number came to St. Augustine, and placed before the attorney-general, Mr. Yonge, a statement of their wrongs and grievances, with the view of finding some means by which they might be relieved from their indentures, and from the thraldom in which they were held by the proprietors. The statement of the cruelties practiced upon these colonists, it is presumable* is greatly exaggerated, as it does not seem probable that a course so opposed to the dictates of humanity, and not less so to those of self-interest, should have been pursued. Proceedings were instituted in the civil tribunals at St. Augustine, which resulted in a decree requiring the indentures to be canceled and the colonists released from their engagements to the proprietors. Liberal offers were now :made to retain them as freeholders, and to continue the cultivation of their lands; but the colonists had suffered so greatly from sickness and trouble that they were unwilling to remain. The entire number removed to St. Augustine, where they received allotments of land in the northern part of the city, which are occupied by their descendants at the present day. Of the character of Dr. Turnbull we have little knowledge, except the prejudicial inferences to be derived from this transaction. He was a Scotchman, and undoubtedly strict and exacting in business matters. His position in the province appears to have been highly respectable, as he was one of the privy council, and possessed great weight in the management of the affairs of the province, and it was expected that he would be appointed governor to succeed Governor Grant in 1771. The colony which he established at New Smyrna must have proved almost a total loss to him, as it was abandoned before it could have reached the point of success when it would have proved remunerative. The location, although a highly favorable one, has never been reoccupied to the same extent ; but it is not unlikely that at some future day the lands first settled by the Greek colonists will be the centre of a highly cultivated and wealthy community. Governor Grant retired from office in 1771, and was succeeded by Lieutenant-Governor Moultrie, who had acquired some reputation in the Cherokee war under Colonel Montgomery. Governor Moultrie was a brother of General Moultrie, a conspicuous officer of the American ,army in the Revolutionary War. The chief-justice of the province, William Drayton, a gentleman of high social position and much political influenced, was unwilling to yield to Major Moultrie the deference which he claimed in his new position, and these gentlemen were soon at variance in respect to all public measures, and the chief- justice, having taken means to thwart the lieutenant-governor in his official acts, was suspended from his office by Governor Moultrie. Mr. Drayton was charged with being friendly to the revolutionary party in the American colonies, and his appeal to the English ministry for reinstatement to his office was unsuccessful. He retired from East Florida, and, after remaining some time in England, went to South Carolina, where he bore a conspicuous part in the struggle for" American independence. (8) One of the assistant judges was appointed by Governor Moultrie to the place of chief-justice, but, being suspected of republican principles, his appointment was not confirmed, and a new appointee was sent to fill the place. In 1774, Governor Tonyn came out from England to assume the government of East Florida. Upon his arrival, he issued a proclamation to the loyalists of the. colonies of Georgia, South Carolina, etc., inviting them to remove to Florida, and promising them the protection and patronage of the government. A considerable number availed themselves of his invitation, and settled upon plantations in the neighborhood of St. Augustine. The transfer of Florida from Spain to Great Britain was too recent, and was too great and favorable a change from its former condition, to allow of the growth of the feeling of disaffection which pervaded the other North American colonies. There were, however, some who sympathized very strongly with the movements of the republicans, and shared their opinions. Upon the news of the adoption by Congress of the Declaration of Independence being received at St. Augustine, the effigies of John Adams and John Hancock were burnt upon the public square at St. Augustine, on the spot where the monument now stands. A British vessel, called the Betsey, commanded by Captain Lofthouse, sent from London, and having on board one hundred and eleven barrels of powder, was captured off St. Augustine bar, in August, 1775, by a privateer from Carolina, which ran alongside and discharged her in sight of the ships of war in the harbor and in plain view of the garrison. This capture was very mortifying to the governor, and, in order to avenge the insult, he immediately, ordered a predatory expedition to advance upon the frontier settlements of Georgia. The expedition was placed under the command of Colonel Brown, who afterwards became very prominent as a partisan leader, and was one" of the most successful and enterprising officers in the British service. His force was made up of Indians and irregular troops. Privateers were also fitted out, and a fort erected at the mouth of the St. Mary's for their protection and that of their prizes. East Florida, with the inauguration of active hostilities between Great Britain and her colonies, began to assume more importance as a rendezvous and base of operations. The governor called out the militia, in the summer of 1776, to join the royal troops in resisting what he called "the perfidious insinuations" of the neighboring colonists, and repelling their future incursions into the province, and to prevent any more infatuated men from joining their ''traitorous neighbors." It would appear from this that some persons from Florida had joined the Americans. President Gwinnett, of Georgia, issued a counter-proclamation, offering protection to the persons and property of those "who would join the American standard in opposition to tyranny."(9) In addition to the rangers, who were considered as regularly enrolled, there was a volunteer militia, organized and officered under their own choice when called out. Many loyalists now began to arrive from Georgia and Carolina, who increased the effective strength of the province, as well as introduced an element of additional bitterness towards the rebel colonies. An invasion of Florida was now contemplated by the patriots in Georgia, and forces for that purpose directed to assemble in Burke County, to march from thence, under command of the governor, against Florida; but the purpose was not carried into effect. The province was at the same time threatened by the Indian tribes friendly to the American cause. Captain Elphinstone, of the navy, and Captain Moncrief, a distinguished officer of the engineer corps, having arrived at St. Augustine with a promise of reinforcements, the fears of an invasion were allayed, and an expedition against Georgia was fitted out and placed under the command of Colonel Fuser, of the 60th Regiment, who, with a force of five hundred infantry and the aid of several pieces of artillery, made an attack on Sunbury. He failed in the object of his expedition, and fell back into Florida to await promised reinforcements. During the year 1778 nearly seven thousand loyalists from Carolina and Georgia moved into Florida. Among those who came in 1777 was one Captain Roderick Mcintosh, better known as Rory Mcintosh, who had been with the company of Highlanders who were surprised at Fort Moosa in 1740, in the Oglethorpe expedition. At the time he went to Florida he was sixty-five years of age, about six feet in stature, strongly built, with white frizzled bushy hair, fresh complexion, and large muscular limbs. In 1763 he carried a drove of cattle to St. Augustine, and received his pay in Spanish dollars, which, putting in a canvas bag, he carried on his horse. Some miles from home the bag gave way, and part of the money fell out. (10) Paying no attention to what had fallen, he fastened the sack and went on, and some years afterwards, being in want of money, he returned to the spot and picked up the amount he required. He had a favorite dog, which he had taught to track his back scent. On one occasion he laid a wager that he would hide a doubloon and send his dog back three miles to fetch it. The dog returned without it. " Treason !" cried Rory, and returned to the log under which he had hidden the gold, but found it had been removed. Seeing a man in a field some distance off, he galloped up to him, and, drawing a dirk, threatened to kill him unless he produced the piece of gold, which the man surrendered. Rory threw it back to him. "Take it, vile caitiff!"; said he ; "it was not the pelf, but the honor of my dog, I cared for!" (10) Governor Houston of Georgia, in conjunction with General Howe, projected an attack upon St. Augustine in the spring of 1778; but, owing to sickness among the troops, disagreements among the commanders, and deficiency of supplies, the expedition was not carried out. To meet this attack, a force was organized in Florida, to proceed from St. Augustine, under command of Captain Mowbray, of the navy, and Major Graham, of the16th Regiment, with one hundred and forty men, and Major Prevost, of the 60th, the whole force being under the command of Colonel Fuser, of the 60th Regiment. From the same causes which paralyzed the movements of the American expedition, the disagreement and jealousies of the commanders of different arms of the service, the English forces did not cross the St. John's, but contented themselves with erecting a fortification at St. John's Bluff. Colonel Fuser also ordered out all the militia of the province to resist the anticipated invasion. Further alarm was created in the province, at this juncture, by the sudden death of Captain Skinner, Deputy Superintendent of Indian Affairs, an active and energetic officer. The expedition of the Americans against St. Augustine, if it had been carried out, would probably have met with entire success, as the English forces were then weak in numbers and divided in counsels.
(1) Forbes's Florida, p. 18. (2) Roberts's Florida, London. (3) Forbes's Florida, 73; Stark's Florida, London, (4) One of the officers, writing from Pensacola in 1770, says, "Affairs in our
unlucky province have as yet been upon a very unstable footing. Whether this ill fate is still doomed to be our
lot, or whether we are about to emerge from such unhappy circumstances, a little time will discover." (5) Bartram's Rep. Florida, vol. ii. p. 252, (6) This place is still known as Rollstown. (7) Bartram, vol. i 177. (8) Forbes's Sketches of Florida, p. 22. (9) Forbes's Sketches, p. 26. (10) White's Georgia. |
