page_title: History of St. Augustine, Florida
section_title: British period
hierarchical_section_title: History of St. Augustine, Florida / British period
caption_attribution_description: English: A portion of Thomas Jeffrey's 1763 map of St. Augustine, Florida
context_page_description: The history of St. Augustine, Florida, the oldest continuously occupied settlement of European origin in the continental United States, began in 1565 when it was founded by the Spanish admiral, Pedro Menéndez de Avilés. The Spanish Crown issued an asiento to Menéndez, signed by King Philip II on March 20, 1565, granting him various titles, including that of adelantado of Florida, and expansive privileges to exploit the lands in the vast territory of Spanish Florida, called La Florida by the Spaniards. This contract directed Menéndez to explore the region's Atlantic coast and report on its features, with the object of finding a suitable location to establish a permanent colony from which the Spanish treasure fleet could be defended and Spain's claimed territories in North America protected against incursions by other European powers.
context_section_description: In 1763, the Treaty of Paris ended the Seven Years' War. Spain ceded Florida and St. Augustine to the British, in exchange for their relinquishing control of occupied Havana. With the change of government, most of the Spanish Floridians and many freedmen departed from St. Augustine for Cuba. Only a few remained to handle unsold property and settle affairs.
  James Grant was appointed the first governor of East Florida. He served from 1764 until 1771, when he returned to Britain due to illness. He was replaced as governor by Patrick Tonyn. During this brief period, the British converted the monks' quarters of the former Franciscan monastery into military barracks, which were named St. Francis Barracks. They also built The King's Bakery, which is believed to be the only extant structure in the city built entirely during the British period.
  The Lieutenant Governor of East Florida under Governor Grant was John Moultrie, who was born in South Carolina. He had served under Grant as a major in the Cherokee War and remained loyal to the British Crown. Moultrie had three brothers who served in the Patriot army during the American War of Independence.
  Moultrie was granted large tracts of land in the St. Augustine vicinity, upon which he established a plantation he called "Bella Vista." He owned another 2,000-acre (8.1 km²) plantation in the Tomoka River basin named "Rosetta". While acting as the lieutenant governor, he lived in the Peck House on St. George Street.
  During the British period, Andrew Turnbull, a friend of Grant, established the settlement of New Smyrna in 1768. Turnbull recruited indentured servants from the Mediterranean area, primarily the island of Minorca. The conditions at New Smyrna were so abysmal that the settlers rebelled en masse in 1777; they walked the 70 miles (110 km) to St. Augustine, where Governor Tonyn gave them refuge. The Minorcans and their descendants stayed on in St. Augustine through the subsequent changes of flags, and marked the community with their language, culture, cuisine and customs.
caption: 1763 map of St. Augustine, capital of British East Florida drawn by Thomas Jeffrey of the Royal Engineers
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