José Masot ( es, José Masot), also known as José Fascot, was a senior

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...

of the

Spanish Navy The Spanish Navy or officially, the Armada, is the maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces and one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Spanish Navy was responsible for a number of major historic achievements in navigation, ...

who served as

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

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 ...

, subdelegate of the intendant, and superintendent general for an island in the

Escambia river The Conecuh River and Escambia River constitute a single river in Alabama and Florida in the United States. The Conecuh River rises near Union Springs in the state and flows in a general southwesterly direction into Florida near Century. The r ...

, from March 1816 until his deposition in May 1818 by American general

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...

Military and political career

Jose Masot joined the

in his youth and eventually rose 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 ...

. Masot, appointed governor of

on March 8, 1816, dealt severely with a slave uprising.

First Seminole War

Masot was the Governor of West Florida at the outbreak of The

First Seminole War The Seminole Wars (also known as the Florida Wars) were three related military conflicts in Florida between the United States and the Seminole, citizens of a Native American nation which formed in the region during the early 1700s. Hostilities ...

. After the garrison at the

negro fort Negro Fort (African Fort) was a short-lived fortification built by the British in 1814, during the War of 1812, in a remote part of what was at the time Spanish Florida. It was intended to support a never-realized British attack on the U.S. via ...

killed a group of American sailors, General Jackson decided to destroy it. In April 1816, Jackson informed him that if the Spanish did not eliminate the negro fort, he would. Masot replied that he did not have sufficient forces to take the fort. Jackson then assigned Brigadier General

Edmund P. Gaines Edmund Pendleton Gaines (March 20, 1777 – June 6, 1849) was a career United States Army officer who served for nearly fifty years, and attained the rank of major general by brevet. He was one of the Army's senior commanders during its format ...

to the task. On July 1816, a supply fleet for Fort Scott reached the Apalachicola River. Colonel

Duncan Lamont Clinch Duncan Lamont Clinch (April 6, 1787 – December 4, 1849) was an American army officer who served as a commander during the War of 1812, and First and Second Seminole Wars. In 1816, he led an attack on Negro Fort, the first battle of the Semin ...

took a force of more than 100 American soldiers and about 150

Lower Creek The Muscogee, also known as the Mvskoke, Muscogee Creek, and the Muscogee Creek Confederacy ( in the Muscogee language), are a group of related indigenous (Native American) peoples of the Southeastern WoodlandsTustunnugee Hutkee'' (White Warrior), to protect their passage. The supply fleet met Clinch at the negro fort, and its two gunboats took positions across the river from the fort. The men in the fort fired their cannon at their opponents, but had no training in aiming the weapon. The Americans fired back and destroyed the fort. Of the 320 people known to be in the fort, which included women and children, more than 250 died during the assault with many others succumbing to their injuries soon after. Once the fort was destroyed, the US army withdrew from Spanish Florida.Missall, John and Mary Lou Missall. 2004. ''The Seminole Wars: America's Longest Indian Conflict''. University Press of Florida. Pages 27 - 32. . Masot's time as governor of West Florida came to an end the following year. On November 11, 1817, several officers and cadets of the Infantry Regiment of Louisiana's Fixed met at the home of Lieutenant Henry Grandpre in Pensacola. The meeting was to discuss killing Masot and installing either Commander Luis Piernas or Artillery Colonel Diego Vera in his place. The plot was discovered and Masot was able to send the news of what happened to the

Captain General Captain general (and its literal equivalent in several languages) is a high military rank of general officer grade, and a gubernatorial title. History The term "Captain General" started to appear in the 14th century, with the meaning of Comma ...

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

(in the Spanish empire,

the Floridas The Floridas ( es, Las Floridas) was a region of the southeastern United States comprising the historical colonies of East Florida and West Florida. The borders of East and West Florida varied. In 1783, when Spain acquired West Florida and re-ac ...

were governed administratively by

), who had suspicions of a relationship between the conspirators and the American troops that had entered the territory of Apalachicola and whose number was estimated at nearly 4,000 men. On May 24, 1818, the Americans occupied the square of Florida's capital, Pensacola, and, after a confrontation with gunfire (which lasted several days), Masot formally surrendered to the armed forces of the United States on May 28. Capturing Pensacola was the last stage of Jackson's campaign, and he, interpreting Masot's terms of surrender as giving the United States control over the entirety of West Florida, appointed Colonel William King as its provisional governor, and he and his troops returned to U.S. territory.Martínez Laínez, Fernando and Canales Torres, Carlos. Banderas lejanas: La exploración, conquista y defensa por parte de España del Territorio de los actuales Estados Unidos (in Spanish: Flags far: The exploration, conquest and defense by Spain of the Territory of the present United States). Pages 138-139. Editorial EDAF. Fourth edition: September 2009.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Masot, Jose Governors of West Florida Military personnel of the Seminole Wars Negro Fort Royal Governors of La Florida Spanish naval officers