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The Republic of the Floridas, also called Republic of Floridas, was a short-lived attempt, from June to December 1817, to establish an independent Florida (then a Spanish territory). (The plural "Floridas" refers to the separate provinces of East Florida and West Florida.) It was led by Gregor MacGregor, a Scottish military adventurer, purportedly commissioned by Simón Bolívar, who led revolts of the Spanish colonies in America, to capture Florida from Spain. He was joined by French adventurer and soldier of fortune Louis-Michel Aury and by the Scot Richard Ambrister, whose execution by General Andrew Jackson shortly thereafter provoked an international incident. MacGregor conquered Amelia Island, the only territory the country consisted of, and raised the Green Cross of Florida flag over the Spanish Fort San Carlos.^[1]

On December 9, 1817, "first year of the independence of Floridas", there was printed in Fernandina the Report of the Committee Appointed to Frame the Plan of Provisional Government for the Republic of Floridas.^[2] It was reprinted privately in 1942 under the title Republic of the Floridas: Constitution and Frame of Government Drafted by a Committee Appointed by the Assembly of Representatives, and Submitted at Fernandina, December 9, 1817.^[3]^[4]

Believing that the occupation of Amelia Island by the men in question meant "that it would be used as a base from which to smuggle slaves and other merchandise into the U.S.", avoiding the customs duties which were the Federal government's main source of revenue,^[5] took possession of the island in December, and President Monroe delivered to Congress on January 13, 1818, a Message from the President of the United States, communicating information of the troops of the United States having taken possession of Amelia Island, in East Florida. Its first sentence reads: "I have the satisfaction to inform Congress, that the establishment at Amelia Island has been suppressed, and without the effusion of blood."^[6]^: 3 Monroe included "the papers which explain this transaction": the letters of Graham and Crowninshield just cited, letters of Aury, and other documentation from Federal records.

References

^ Gene M. Burnett (1 October 2014). Florida's Past, Vol 2: People and Events That Shaped the State. Pineapple Press. pp. 119–120. ISBN 978-1-56164-759-0.
^ http://www.worldcat.org/title/report-of-the-committee-appointed-to-frame-the-plan-of-provisional-government-for-the-republic-of-floridas/oclc/967517848
^ "LC Catalog - Browse".
^ (Republic), Floridas (1942). "Republic of the Floridas: Constitution and Frame of Government Drafted by a Committee Appointed by the Assembly of Representatives, and Submitted at Fernandina, December 9, 1817".
^ American State Papers: Documents, Legislative and Executive, of the Congress of the United States. Gales and Seaton. 1834. p. 141.
^ Monroe, James (1818). "THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, OF THE TROOPS OF THE UNITED STATES HAVING TAKEN POSSESSION OF AMELIA ISLAND IN EAST FLORIDA January 13, 1818". Washington, D.C. Retrieved July 25, 2018.

[Burnett2014-1] Gene M. Burnett (1 October 2014). Florida's Past, Vol 2: People and Events That Shaped the State. Pineapple Press. pp. 119–120. ISBN 978-1-56164-759-0.

[2] ttp://www.worldcat.org/title/report-of-the-committee-appointed-to-frame-the-plan-of-provisional-government-for-the-republic-of-floridas/oclc/967517848

[3] "LC Catalog - Browse".

[4] (Republic), Floridas (1942). "Republic of the Floridas: Constitution and Frame of Government Drafted by a Committee Appointed by the Assembly of Representatives, and Submitted at Fernandina, December 9, 1817".

[AmericanStatePapers1834-5] American State Papers: Documents, Legislative and Executive, of the Congress of the United States. Gales and Seaton. 1834. p. 141.

[6] Monroe, James (1818). "THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, OF THE TROOPS OF THE UNITED STATES HAVING TAKEN POSSESSION OF AMELIA ISLAND IN EAST FLORIDA January 13, 1818". Washington, D.C. Retrieved July 25, 2018.

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-{{merge to|Amelia Island affair}}
 {{Distinguish|Republic of West Florida|Republic of East Florida}}
 [[File:Green Cross flag of Florida.svg|thumb|Green Cross of Florida flag.]]
+The '''Republic of the Floridas''', also called '''Republic of Floridas''', was a short-lived attempt, from June to December 1817, to establish an independent Florida (then a Spanish territory). (The plural "Floridas" refers to the separate provinces of [[East Florida]] and [[West Florida]].) It was led by [[Gregor MacGregor]], a Scottish military adventurer, purportedly commissioned by [[Simón Bolívar]], who led revolts of the Spanish colonies in America, to capture Florida from Spain. He was joined by French adventurer and soldier of fortune [[Louis-Michel Aury]] and by the Scot [[Arbuthnot and Ambrister incident|Richard Ambrister]], whose execution by General [[Andrew Jackson]] shortly thereafter provoked [[Arbuthnot and Ambrister incident|an international incident]]. MacGregor conquered [[Amelia Island affair|Amelia Island]], the only territory the country consisted of, and raised the Green Cross of Florida flag over the Spanish [[Fort San Carlos]].<ref name="Burnett2014">{{cite book|author=Gene M. Burnett|title=Florida's Past, Vol 2: People and Events That Shaped the State|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a5hxDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT120|date=1 October 2014|publisher=Pineapple Press|isbn=978-1-56164-759-0|pages=119–120}}</ref>
-[[File:Plan de l'île d'Amelia à la côte de la Floride orientale 1779.jpg|thumb|Nautical chart of Amelia Island, 1799.]]
-[[File:Bandera del Supremo Gobierno Mexicano.svg|thumb|Mexican insurgents' flag flown by privateer Louis Aury.]]
-The '''Republic of the Floridas''', also called '''Republic of Floridas''' (the plural refers to the separate provinces of [[East Florida]] and [[West Florida]]), was a pirate republic in [[Amelia Island]], first as an attempt to establish an independent Florida to cut off the Spanish royalist resupply from [[New York]], then as an autonomous mexican province. Was a short-lived project, from June to December 1817.
-The idea arose from General [[Juan Bautista Arismendi]], who proposed to [[Gregor MacGregor]] the capture of some Floridian port (it did not matter if it was in [[West Florida]] or [[East Florida]]), from which to set up a base with which to cut off the North American supply to the [[Royalist (Spanish American independence)|Royalists]].
-MacGregor, a Scottish mercenary, accepted and went to [[Haiti]] to start the operation; after his departure, a letter arrived at [[Margarita Island]] for him from Bolívar, promoting him to division general and asking him to continue in [[Venezuela]].
-It is falsely believed that [[Simón Bolívar]] authorized the operation or that he was part of it at some point. Bolívar, like other independentistas, only supported the idea, but never participated in it, either directly or indirectly. It must be remembered that at that time most of Venezuela was occupied by the royalists, and Margarita was precisely one of the few areas that was under independence control. It was MacGregor who financed the whole operation, through the sale of vouchers or bonds that supposedly would be exchanged for acres of fertile land or for money borrowed at high interest, when the adventure was successful and he conquered Florida (which, by not happening, the investors lost). his money), thus raising $160,000.
-On June 29, 1817, MacGregor landed with between 80 and 150 American mercenaries on Amelia Island, a small island in Florida. The commander of the 51 Spanish soldiers on the island, Francisco Morales, believed that there were many more invaders and surrendered without a fight. After that is raised the Green Cross of Florida flag over the Spanish [[Fort San Carlos]].<ref name="Burnett2014">{{cite book|author=Gene M. Burnett|title=Florida's Past, Vol 2: People and Events That Shaped the State|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a5hxDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT120|date=1 October 2014|publisher=Pineapple Press|isbn=978-1-56164-759-0|pages=119–120}}</ref>
-He had been on the island for just 67 days before fleeing. Then French pirate [[Louis-Michel Aury]] occupied the island with three battalions (one Anglo-Saxon, another European, and the third mestizo and mulatto, especially Haitian). Aury named Constante Ferrari "Chief of the European Battalion" when he joined him on the island of Amelia with 250 volunteers, almost all ex-Napoleonic soldiers.
 On December 9, 1817, "first year of the independence of Floridas", there was printed in [[Fernandina, Florida|Fernandina]] the ''Report of the Committee Appointed to Frame the Plan of Provisional Government for the Republic of Floridas''.<ref>http://www.worldcat.org/title/report-of-the-committee-appointed-to-frame-the-plan-of-provisional-government-for-the-republic-of-floridas/oclc/967517848</ref> It was reprinted privately in 1942 under the title ''Republic of the Floridas: Constitution and Frame of Government Drafted by a Committee Appointed by the Assembly of Representatives, and Submitted at Fernandina, December 9, 1817''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://catalog.loc.gov/vwebv/search?searchArg=Republic+of+the+Floridas%3A+Constitution+and+Frame+of+Government&searchCode=GKEY%5E*&searchType=0&recCount=25&sk=en_US|title=LC Catalog - Browse}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FgwVYAAACAAJ | title=Republic of the Floridas: Constitution and Frame of Government Drafted by a Committee Appointed by the Assembly of Representatives, and Submitted at Fernandina, December 9, 1817| last1=(Republic)| first1=Floridas| year=1942}}</ref>