Melchor Feliú (?-1766) was the last governor in the First Spanish Period of

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

's history, governing from March 20, 1762 to July 27, 1763. Feliú oversaw the cession of Florida to

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

by the

Treaty of Paris Treaty of Paris may refer to one of many treaties signed in Paris, France: Treaties 1200s and 1300s * Treaty of Paris (1229), which ended the Albigensian Crusade * Treaty of Paris (1259), between Henry III of England and Louis IX of France * Trea ...

on July 21, 1763 and the subsequent immigration of most of the province's Spanish and African inhabitants to Cuba. Some of the Native Americans living in the Spanish Catholic missions also moved away from Florida at this time.

Government of Florida

Melchor Feliú was appointed governor of

on March 20, 1762.John Worth - Spanish Florida - Governors
. University of West Florida.

Relations with Native Americans and strengthening defense of the colony

During his administration, Feliú, like his predecessors, continued to support the

Franciscan , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

missions established at various Native American villages, and tried to revive friendly relations with former indigenous allies that former Florida governor Lucas Fernando Palacios had broken, even granting Christian Native Americans the same rights as the colonists. Following the

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

between Spain and

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, which had revealed the vulnerability of Florida to an English attack, Feliú sought to improve the military readiness of the province. To supplement the ranks of the some 2,000 soldiers that the Florida militia could muster, Feliú invited enslaved peoples in the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

and French colonies of North America to escape to Florida and become Spanish citizens in exchange for joining Florida's militia, a stratagem that proved successful. Feliú had the thick forest between

Fort Mose Fort Mose Historic State Park (originally known as Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose, and later Fort Mose; alternatively, Fort Moosa or Fort Mossa), is a former Spanish fort in St. Augustine, Florida. In 1738, the governor of Spanish Florida, M ...

and St. Augustine cut down to deprive the Native Americans of cover to launch their raids, saving five thousand suitable logs to use as stakes in constructing fortifications. He doubtless recruited lumberjacks from the Mose militiamen for this project, and assigned them to help raise the earthen defensive line from Fort Mose to the San Sebastian River. Thes
black soldiers from Fort Mose
helped build a stockaded fort where the line joined the San Sebastian, working alongside the ''moreno'' and ''

pardo ''Pardos'' (feminine ''pardas'') is a term used in the former Portuguese and Spanish colonies in the Americas to refer to the triracial descendants of Southern Europeans, Amerindians and West Africans. In some places they were defined as ne ...

'' troops sent from

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

to help defend the city.

Engineers in St. Augustine

When Feliú came to St. Augustine in 1762, he brought with him a military engineer by the name of Pablo Castelló. Castelló and mission engineer Juan de Cotilla, who had returned to Florida in 1763, became important Spanish architects in the region. Cotilla was even instructed to assist Feliú in organizing the departure of Spanish colonists from Florida. Spanish inhabitants of St. Augustine, as well as Feliú himself, trusted Cotilla to assist in the sale of their properties.

Cession of Florida to Britain

On July 21, 1763, Feliú signed the documents that ceded Florida to

by the 1763

. The official ceremony took place at the Castillo de San Marcos, where he delivered the city keys to Major John Hedges, the ranking representative of

King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

. Feliú oversaw the evacuation of the Spanish troops and almost the entire population of Spanish citizens of Florida to Havana, Cuba, which had been captured by Great Britain in 1762 during the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (175 ...

, and was regained by Spain according to the terms of the treaty (until the exchange, Florida belonged to the Captaincy General of Cuba). Feliú organized a

flotilla A flotilla (from Spanish, meaning a small ''flota'' ( fleet) of ships), or naval flotilla, is a formation of small warships that may be part of a larger fleet. Composition A flotilla is usually composed of a homogeneous group of the same clas ...

of ships to transport the ''Floridanos'' (Spanish Floridians) including Blacks from Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose, as well as Native Americans from the missions of Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe de Tolomato and Nuestra Senora de la Leche, to Cuba. The exodus of people leaving Florida began on April 12, 1763. The mass immigration of the ''Floridanos'' to Cuba ended on February 5, 1764. Feliú decided to leave seven soldiers and an interpreter in Florida.J. Robinson, Maurice (2008)
Ponte Vedra Beach: A History
The History Press. Feliú was determined to ascertain the validity of all land titles before properties were sold to British subjects. The deeds, signed by the governor and the royal treasurer, Juan Esteban de Peña, affirmed that the Spanish owners of the lands had legitimate titles and that, according to the Treaty of Paris, John Gordon and

Jesse Fish Jesse Fish (1724 or 1726–1790) was a shipmaster, merchant, and realtor who lived in St. Augustine, Florida under both Spanish and British rule, and is infamous in the town's history to this day. He was a schemer involved in contraband trade and ...

had become the "true and lawful owners and possessors" of those lands.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Feliu, Melchor Royal Governors of La Florida 1766 deaths