East Florida - Spanish Period

Spanish Period

Spain continued to administer East and West Florida as separate colonies. The Spanish offered favorable terms for acquiring land, which attracted many settlers from the newly formed United States. There were several territorial disputes between the U.S. and Spain, some resulting in military action. An American army under Andrew Jackson invaded East Florida during the First Seminole War. Jackson's forces captured St. Mark's on April 7, 1818 and Pensacola on May 24, 1818. James Monroe's Secretary of State John Quincy Adams defined the American position on this issue. Adams accused Spain of breaking Pinckney's Treaty by failing to control the Seminoles. Faced with the prospect of losing control, Spain formally ceded all of its Florida territory to the U.S. under the Adams-Onís Treaty in 1819 (ratified in 1821) in exchange for the U.S. ceding its claims on Texas and the U.S. paying any claims its citizens might have against Spain up to $5,000,000.

In 1822, the U.S. Congress organized the Florida Territory. In 1845, Florida was admitted as the 27th state of the United States.