British Florida
1763-1783
ANALYSIS
In 1763, the British Governor of East Florida, James grant, had a primary mission which was to attract new British settlers to his colony (1). East Florida was given a regiment of British soldiers to protect colonists from Spanish attack. Governor Grant awarded land grants of almost 3 million acres to settlers. Most were large plantations operated by slave labor (4).
The population of East Florida before the Revolutionary War consisted of nearly 3000 settlers. Most lived in and around St. Augustine. In addition, nearly 1500 slaves lived on the plantations. The largest being the New Smyna Indigo plantation owned by Dr. Andrew Turnbill, a strong Loyalist (1). West Florida was settled primarily by people from the existing southern colonies. They sought protection from increasing Choctaw, Seminole, and Creek Indian attacks(5). British soldiers supplied that need in West Florida. The charts below demonstrates the demographic, settlement, and geographic differences between the Floridas and the other southern colonies.
Population of the 13 Colonies in1770
1. Virginia 447,016
2. Pennsylvania 240,057
3. Massachusetts 235,808
4. Maryland 202,599
5. North Carolina 197,200
6. Connecticut 183,881
7. New York 162,920
8. South Carolina 124,244
9. New Jersey 117,431
10. Rhode Island 58,196
11. New Hampshire 62,396
12. Delaware 35,496
13. Georgia 23,375
East Florida 3,000
West Florida 4,000
Springston (6)
British Florida
vs
13 Colonies
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