Mauricio de Zúñiga (died 1816) was a Spanish military officer who served as governor of

West Florida West Florida () was a region on the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico that underwent several boundary and sovereignty changes during its history. Great Britain established West and East Florida in 1763 out of land acquired from France and S ...

from 1812 to 1813, and again in 1816.

Early years

Mauricio de Zúñiga was born in the 18th century, probably in

El Prat de Llobregat El Prat de Llobregat (), commonly known as El Prat , is a municipality of Spain located in the ''comarca'' of Baix Llobregat in Catalonia. The Josep Tarradellas Barcelona–El Prat Airport largely lies within the municipal limits. It is part of ...

, in

Baix Llobregat Baix Llobregat () is a comarca (county) on the coast of Catalonia, Spain. It is located in the Barcelona region and its capital is Sant Feliu de Llobregat. Municipalities Proposed changes It has long been proposed to split the northern part of ...

( Barcelona Province,

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

). As a youth, he joined the Spanish army, where he rose to the rank of lieutenant

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), 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 colon ...

Political career

In July 1812, Zúñiga was appointed governor of

, and moved to its capital,

Pensacola Pensacola ( ) is a city in the Florida panhandle in the United States. It is the county seat and only city in Escambia County. The population was 54,312 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Pensacola metropolitan area, which ha ...

. He served in that office till April 1813. In 1814, during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

, 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. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

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established what became known as the

Negro Fort Negro 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 its southwest b ...

on Prospect Bluff along the Spanish side of the

Apalachicola River The Apalachicola River is a river, approximately long, in the state of Florida. The river's large drainage basin, watershed, known as the ACF River Basin, Apalachicola, Chattahoochee and Flint (ACF) River Basin, drains an area of approximately ...

. The garrison initially included around 1,000 Britons and several hundred persons of African descent. Shortly after the end of the war in 1815, the British withdrew from the post and left the black population in occupation. Over the next few years the fort became a colony for escaped slaves from

St. Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced the development of Western philosop ...

, and

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. After Zúñiga resumed the governorship of West Florida in March 1816,

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before Presidency of Andrew Jackson, his presidency, he rose to fame as a general in the U.S. Army and served in both houses ...

, commander of the Southern Military Division of the United States, wrote him and demanded that the Spanish authorities immediately intervene to destroy or remove the denizens of the fort and the surrounding community of escaped slaves and Indians. Although Zúñiga did not have enough troops to deploy and drive them out, he did send Captain Sebastián Pintado to investigate the matter and recover any runaway slaves who belonged to the Spanish. Zúñiga, who wanted to maintain good relations with the Native Americans of Florida (who would be outraged if the Negro Fort was attacked) and, at the same time, wanted to avoid a military invasion by Jackson, replied that he also was concerned about the fort, but awaited instructions from his superiors what to do about the matter. Soon afterward, however, someone from the fort fired shots at an American supply ship. This gave Jackson the excuse he needed to order the attack and destruction of the fort by General Edmund P. Gaines on July 27. 1816, in which almost all of its residents were killed. Nevertheless, the number of runaway slaves from Georgia who subsequently fled to Florida was still significant. Zúñiga's term as governor ended on 15 September 1816, and he died near the end of that year.

References

External links

Fort Gadsden and the "Negro Fort" - Florida
*. {{DEFAULTSORT:Zuniga, Mauricio De Governors of West Florida Spanish colonels People from El Prat de Llobregat Royal governors of La Florida 18th-century births 1816 deaths