Abstract
As governor of the English Province of West Florida, Peter Chester had many vexing problems to tax his executive abilities and his diplomatic skill. None was more difficult nor more intriguing than that of dealing with the Indians. Even before his arrival in the colony the Indians must have begun to realize that, regardless of which European imperialistic rival eventually won out in the struggle for supremacy in southeastern North America, they were the losers. Friendship proffered by the Spanish, and by the English after 1763 when the Treaty of Paris gave Florida to them and still later by the Anglo-Americans, was not sincere. The amiable gestures were not expected to be beneficial to those to whom they were extended. Whether Spanish, French, English, or American, the motives of the white man in dealing with the Indian were essentially the same. The natives had first claim on the land but the territory was wrested from them by treaty if possible, or by intrigue or by force.
Recommended Citation
Osborn, George C.
(1952)
"Relations with the Indians in West Florida, 1770-1781,"
Florida Historical Quarterly: Vol. 31:
No.
4, Article 3.
Available at:
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/fhq/vol31/iss4/3
