Florida Colonial Records

History
In 1565, Spain established the presidio of Saint Augustine, the first permanent European settlement. Saint Augustine was burned by the English in 1586, another major settlement was not established in Florida until 1698. The territory of Florida originally included Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina. Florida was ceded to the English in 1763 and divided into West and East Florida. Florida was returned to Spain in 1784. Some of West Florida was annexed to the territories of Louisiana and Mississippi in 1812. The remainder of Florida was ceded to the United States in 1819.

Additional Reading

 * The Spanish Borderlands: A Chronicle of Old Florida and the Southwest by Herbert E. Bolton, (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1921).