Enrique White (1741 - April 13, 1811) was an Irish-born Spanish soldier who served as Governor of

West Florida West Florida ( es, Florida Occidental) was a region on the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico that underwent several boundary and sovereignty changes during its history. As its name suggests, it was formed out of the western part of former S ...

(May 1793 – May 1795) and of

East Florida East Florida ( es, Florida Oriental) was a colony of Great Britain from 1763 to 1783 and a province of Spanish Florida from 1783 to 1821. Great Britain gained control of the long-established Spanish colony of ''La Florida'' in 1763 as part of ...

(June 1796 - March 1811).

Biography

Enrique (Henry) White was born in Dublin, Ireland. He later immigrated to Spain, where he served the Spanish Crown from age 22 until his death. The young man joined the Spanish Royal Army, eventually rising to the rank of

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

. Notre Dame Archives: ANO 1801/04/09
University of Notre Dame. In 1779 he was appointed commander of the third battalion of the

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

Infantry

Regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscript ...

, with the title ''Sargento Mayor'' (Sergeant Major). serving several times in that capacity, and eventually attained the rank of

brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. I ...

. On May 15, 1793, White was appointed acting Governor of

, and remained in the position until June 1795. White was appointed Governor of

in the spring of 1796, and arrived in its capital,

Saint Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Afr ...

, on June 5. He assumed his duties on June 20. Construction of the

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...

of St. Augustine, initiated by his predecessor Bartolomé Morales, was completed the next year in 1797. It was in January 1797 that Governor White received news that Spain was at war with England ( Anglo-Spanish War). This conflict would last until 1802 and was part of the larger

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

in Europe. New construction was encouraged in St. Augustine during White's governorship, with numerous new houses being built. The military preparedness of the city and its fortifications were strengthened. The garrison's morale improved as well with better conditions. White was very strict in granting the concession of lands from the public domain, and often enforced the laws more rigorously than the legal code itself would allow. The Impact of Spanish Land Grants on the Development of Florida and the South Eastern United States
Joe Ketsch. p. 6. In 1799, English corsairs took

Amelia Island Amelia Island is a part of the Sea Islands chain that stretches along the East Coast of the United States from South Carolina to Florida; it is the southernmost of the Sea Islands, and the northernmost of the barrier islands on Florida's Atlanti ...

along the much contested Florida-Georgia border. Officials in Georgia's Camden County corresponded with White whenever American fugitives crossed the southern border fleeing the law.

Illness and death

White fell ill in 1800, and was temporarily replaced by Lt. Col. Bartolomé Morales, who had previously served as acting governor of East Florida (March 1796 - June 1796), accompanied by Gonzalo Zamorano, Commissary of the army and accountant of the royal finance. White recovered from his illness in 1801 and resumed his office, remaining in that position until March 1811, when he fell ill again and died on April 13 of that year in St. Augustine. He is buried in Tolomato Cemetery in St. Augustine.

Personal life

Governor White never married. He owned several slaves, who gained their freedom when he died.

Legacy

In 1811, White officially named a town on Amelia Island " Fernandina," in honor of the Catholic monarch

Ferdinand VII of Spain , house = Bourbon-Anjou , father = Charles IV of Spain , mother = Maria Luisa of Parma , birth_date = 14 October 1784 , birth_place = El Escorial, Spain , death_date = , death_place = Madrid, Spain , burial_p ...

.Plan of Fernandina - Old Florida Maps
University of Miami. This renaming followed Napoleon's invasion of Spain and the Court's exile. The street running east and west in Fernandina called "White Street" was named after Enrique White.Mike Harrison (Editor/Publisher; April 6, 2010)
Leaflet - Old Town Fernandina
Retrieved in July 11, 2014, to 17:20pm.

References

External links

Coleraine Indian attacks 1802 - USGenWeb Archives
{{DEFAULTSORT:White, Enrique Royal Governors of La Florida Irish emigrants to Spain 1741 births 1811 deaths Military personnel from Dublin (city)