The Early Sugar Industry in Florida

During the score of years of British occupation little sugar was produced in Florida. The cultivation of sugar-cane was tried only experimentally and was practically limited to small plots of land on the plantations of Lieutenant Governor John Moultrie and Richard Oswald, Esq. In 1776 only one hogshead of sugar and another of molasses were exported, although the number of barrels, casks, and puncheons of rum shipped totaled seventy-eight

Slavery in East Florida

This article is in continuation of Slavery and White Servitude in East Florida, 1726-1776, which appeared in the QUARTERLY, July, 1931

Some Church History of St. Augustine During the Spanish Regime

When the Spaniards evacuated St. Augustine in 1763 and 1764 they took with them to Havana all the altars, images, vestments, canopies, cushions, bells, and even the wax tapers of their churches, religious brotherhoods, and the Franciscan convent. All this sacred paraphernalia was in charge of the warden of the parish church, Simon de Hita, and was transported to its destination in the schooner Our Lady of Light, which cast anchor in the harbor of Havana about February 1, 176

The Exodus of the Loyalists from Penobscot to Passamaquoddy

Contents: The loss of old Fort Pownall by the Americans -- The departure of Colonel Thomas Goldthwait -- The project establishing a new military post on the Penobscot -- Knox\u27s plan for a loyalist province between the Penobscot and the St. Croix -- John Nutting and the British expedition to establish the post -- The unsuccessful siege of the new post by the Americans -- The behavior of the local inhabitants during the siege -- Removal of American refugees to the post -- The missions of John Nutting and Dr. John Caleff to England -- The constitution proposed for the loyalist province -- The plan to settle the Penobscot country with loyalists from New York -- The growth of the refugee population at Penobscot -- Refusal of the Americans to give up the Penobscot country at the peace -- Removal of the loyalists from Penobscot to Passamaquoddy -- Surveyor General Robert Morse at Passamaquoddy -- Contention between Massachusetts and the loyalists over the Passamaquoddy region -- The loyalist settlement on St. Andrews Point, and its activities -- The town plot and grantees of St. Andrews -- Church and school at St. Andrews -- Extent of the grants at Passamaquoddy to the Penobscot Associated Loyalists; the settlements founded -- St. George\u27s Town -- Settlements formed by loyalists from localities other than Penobscot -- The town of St. Stephen -- Settlements on the Digdeguash in the Parish of St. Patrick -- Settlements on the lower Magaguadavic and the L\u27Etang -- The settlement of the Royal Fencible Americans on the west side of the lower Magaguadavic -- The settlement of Pennsylvania Quakers at Pennfield -- The occupation of the small harbors east of Pennfield -- The settlement of the Cape Ann Association in the Parish of St. David -- The loyalist settlers on the Island of Grand Manan -- The loyalist settlers on the Island of Campobello -- The loyalist occupants and settlers of Deer Island -- Loyalist settlers on the smaller islands -- The census of 1784; occupations of the settlers -- Increase of the population to 1803 -- Creation of the district court and the townships at Passamaquoddy -- The boundary dispute -- The boundary commission and its decision -- Contention over the islands in Passamaquoddy Bay -- The island commission and its verdic

Privateering in Florida Waters and Northwards: During the Revolution

With the outbreak of the Revolution East Florida, remaining loyal to the British crown, was cut off from intercourse and trade with the rebellious colonies to the north and was victimized by privateers. The province could no longer import its food supplies from its neighbors, and cargoes of munitions, ordnance stores, and domestic goods from England were subject to capture at sea. By the same method St. Augustine sought to avenge and reimburse herself for her losses

The Departure of the Spaniards and Other Groups from East Florida, 1763

The departure of the Spaniards, their dependents, and other inhabitants from East Florida when the British took over the two Floridas in 1763 began on April 12 when three schooners sailed from St. Augustine for Havana. Sixteen vessels left in August, two or more of them for Apalachee, including an English packet boat and the English sloop Hawk, one sloop left in September, a French sloop and six other vessels in October, two in November, including a French sloop, an English brigantine, an English sloop, and four other vessels in December. With one sloop on January 8, 1764 and eight vessels on the following day, the sailings were completed

Slavery and White Servitude in East Florida, 1726-1776

For a limited period and to a limited extent negro slavery existed in the Florida peninsula under the early Spanish regime. From at least as early as 1726 the Spaniards welcomed fugitive slaves from Georgia and South Carolina. So also did the lower Creek Indians, who treated them well, admitted them to their free life, and intermarried with them. For the next dozen years the fugitives were sold in St. Augustine, although their liberation was ordered by a royal decree of October 29, 1733. When claimants or their agents came from the neighboring colonies to recover their slaves, they got only the money for which they had been sold. But in March, 1738, some of these bondmen appealed to Governor Montiano for their liberty and obtained it, despite the protests of their Spanish owners

The Port of St. Augustine During the British Regime

A little more than six miles of Anastasia island, eastward of St. Augustine, is shown on the old map by De Brahm, one-time surveyor-general for the Southern District of British America. The channel is depicted and, less than a mile east of the fortress or “castle,” the bar. The Look-out Tower stands two thirds of the island’s width at that point from its inner side, a little more than a fifth of a mile from its outer side, and half a mile from the shore directly north. De Brahm’s survey was made in 1765 and 1766. On a much earlier map Boazio shows Drake’s attack on St. Augustine in June 1586. On this map a few lines represent the Look-out as standing in the northeastern area of Anastasia island, with mounds of sand to the east and north. Tilled plots of ground are scattered among clumps of trees southwest of the Look-out, three of the plots having houses. Drake’s fleet lies off the east shore of the island from the channel a distance southward. Boats are landing troops north of the Look-out and more boats at the north end of the town

The Port of St. Augustine During the British Regime, Part II

Loyal to King George III, East Florida soon became involved with her rebellious neighbors to the northward. Wartime was reflected in the shipping at St. Augustine and the privateering in nearby waters. The first hostility of that neighborhood was the seizure of one hundred and eleven barrels and thirty-seven kegs of gunpowder from the English brigantine Betsy in July 1775 by a South Carolina sloop outside the bar. The aggressor escaped to the northward

How the Spaniards Evacuated Pensacola in 1763

The documents on which this article is based are all contained in Folder 228, General Archives of the Indies, Seville (Santo Domingo, Louisiana and Florida, 86-7-11)