West Florida Republic

The West Florida Controversy was a dispute over the territory between the Apalachicola and Mississippi rivers on the Gulf of Mexico. Spain claimed the area, followed by France, and then Great Britain. Spain regained control in 1783. The United States asserted a claim as part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803.

In 1810, American settlers in Baton Rouge revolted against Spanish rule, establishing the short-lived Republic of West Florida, which adopted the Bonnie Blue flag. This region was soon incorporated into the Mississippi Territory. Spain officially ceded all claims to West Florida to the United States in the Transcontinental Treaty of 1819, with U.S. jurisdiction established two years later.12