British West Florida - Creation

Creation

Further information: Great Britain in the Seven Years War

In 1762 during the Seven Years War a British expedition attacked and occupied Havana, the capital of Cuba. To secure the return of the valuable city – Spain agreed to cede its territory of La Florida in the terms of the Treaty of Paris (1763). France also ceded a large segment of New France to Britain including everything on the east bank of the Mississippi River. The British divided these new territories into two separate colonies East Florida, with its capital in St Augustine and West Florida which had the former Spanish settlement of Pensacola as its capital. By the same treaty Spain was given the Western side of the Mississippi which formed Spanish Louisiana with its capital at New Orleans at the mouth of the river. Many of the existing Spanish inhabitants were evacuated to Cuba, and new British and American settlers arrived to take over the land.