The American Conquest of Florida is released
The final book in the Albion Florida series has now been released. In it the period from 1784 to 1825 is covered in detail. The Spanish re-assumed control of East Florida in 1784 when the British ceded the colony. West Florida had been under Spanish administration since 1781.
The next few decades would be engulfed in tumult with incursions into Florida from the newly independent United States routinely resulting in armed conflict. Florida had an important and often forgotten and ignored role in the War of 1812.
Andrew Jackson’s legend was cemented by his actions in Florida – which were arguably illegal and almost certainly morally highly questionable. Jackson’s actions drove Florida into the United States. While Spain ceded Florida by treaty, in reality the US conquered Florida.
The British continued to play a key role in Florida even after losing formal control of the colony. We’ll explore that angle as well in this work.
In the Afterword, we discuss how Florida’s character was completely changed by the American conquest. The multicultural, eclectic colonial period was replaced by a a classic southern plantation economy and a state whose politics were based on Jeffersonian principles.
