Francisco Collell was a

Span Span may refer to: Science, technology and engineering * Span (unit), the width of a human hand * Span (engineering), a section between two intermediate supports * Wingspan, the distance between the wingtips of a bird or aircraft * Sorbitan ester ...

ish military official and politician who served as

interim An interim is a period of temporary pause or change in a sequence of events, or a temporary state, and is often applied to transitional political entities. Interim may also refer to: Temporary organizational arrangements (general concept) *Provis ...

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 ...

between October 1810 and February 1811. He was also sub-lieutenant and Commandant of Galvez Town,

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 ...

Biography

Francisco Collell joined the

Spanish Army The Spanish Army ( es, Ejército de Tierra, lit=Land Army) is the terrestrial army of the Spanish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is one of the oldest active armies — dating back to the late 15th century. The ...

in his youth and rose to the rank of ''

comandante Commandant ( or ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ran ...

'' (commandant). In 1779, after being promoted to sub-lieutenant and still retaining the title of "Commandant" of Galvez Town,

, Collell laid out land lots and constructed houses in Galvez Town for the Spanish

Canarian Canary Islanders, or Canarians ( es, canarios), are a Romance people and ethnic group. They reside on the Canary Islands, an autonomous community of Spain near the coast of northwest Africa, and descend from a mixture of European settlers and abor ...

settlers (''Isleños''). He strived conscientiously to guide the poverty-stricken and ill-equipped Isleños, who lacked the basic necessities of clothing and adequate food rations, as they struggled with periodic famines, floods, and

epidemics An epidemic (from Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of patients among a given population within an area in a short period of time. Epidemics of infectious d ...

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

. Francisco Collell was appointed interim governor of

in October 1810 and remained in that office until February 1811, when he was replaced by Francisco de San Maxent.Ben Cahoon
U.S. States F-K

Legacy

Colyell, Louisiana Colyell is an unincorporated community in Livingston Parish, Louisiana, United States. It was named after Francisco Collell, who was the commandant of Galveztown in 1779. Currently, the only school located in the Colyell area is Frost School, ...

was named after Francisco Collell.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Collell, Francisco Royal Governors of La Florida Date of birth unknown Date of death unknown