Abstract
After more than a decade of explorations by Spain along the north and east shores of the Gulf of Mexico, a garrison has founded with all urgency at a bay called Pensacola* in the latter part of the year 1698 in an effort to keep other foreign powers, namely France and England, from obtaining a foothold in the region. These enemies of the Spanish dominions, so thought the Spaniards, would thus be obstructed from an area from which they could attack Spanish shipping and from which they would be able to penetrate and usurp portions of the northern Spanish colonies, principally Florida and the rich mining areas of New Spain. For the first two-score years of its existence, this bay with its garrison settlement was a much coveted prize for Spain’s rivals. Spain herself felt that such an outpost would give her command of the entire Mexican Gulf, although it was soon learned that other areas of the region could also be settled and fortified, as was done at Biloxi and Mobile by the French.
Recommended Citation
Griffen, William B.
(1958)
"Spanish Pensacola, 1700-1763,"
Florida Historical Quarterly: Vol. 37:
No.
3, Article 5.
Available at:
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/fhq/vol37/iss3/5
