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

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

'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 north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

by the Treaty of Paris 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 The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

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 between Spain and

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

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

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 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 In the former Portuguese and Spanish colonies in the Americas, ''pardos'' (feminine ''pardas'') are triracial descendants of Europeans, Indigenous Americans and Africans. History In some places they were defined as neither exclusively ...

'' troops sent from

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

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 Treaty of Paris. 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. Feliú oversaw the evacuation of the Spanish troops and almost the entire population of Spanish citizens of Florida to

Havana, Cuba Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

, and was regained by Spain according to the terms of the treaty (until the exchange, Florida belonged to the

Captaincy General of Cuba The Captaincy General of Cuba () was an administrative district of the Spanish Empire created in 1607 as part of Habsburg Spain's attempt to better defend and administer its Caribbean possessions. The reform also established captaincies general i ...

). Feliú organized a flotilla 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 had become the "true and lawful owners and possessors" of those lands.

Notes

References

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