Amelia Island Affair
Encyclopedia
The Amelia Island Affair was an episode in the history of colonial Florida
.
The Embargo Act (1807) and the abolition of the American slave trade (1808) made Amelia Island
, on the coast of Spanish Florida
, a resort for smugglers with sometimes as many as 300 square-rigged vessels in its harbor. To Amelia in June, 1817, came Gregor MacGregor
, a Scottish
adventurer styling himself the "brigadier general" of the United Provinces of the New Granada and Venezuela and general-in-chief of the armies of the two Floridas. A peripatetic military adventurer, McGregor raised funds and troops for a full-scale invasion of Florida throughout the United States, but he squandered the money on luxuries in the United States and as word of his conduct in South American wars reached the United States, much of his invasion force deserted. Nonetheless, he overran the island with a small force, but left for Nassau
in September.
His followers were soon joined by Louis-Michel Aury
, formerly associated with McGregor in South American adventures, and previously leader of a pirates' gang on Galveston Island
, Texas
. Aury assumed control of Amelia, got a legislature elected, set a committee to drawing a constitution, and invited all Florida to unite in throwing off the Spanish yoke. For the very brief period that Aury controlled Amelia Island, the flag of Mexico was flown, which was the flag of his clients who were still fighting the Spanish in their war for indepependence at that time. The United States
, which had plans to annex the peninsula, sent a naval force which captured Amelia Island on December 23, 1817, and put an end to the republic.
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
.
The Embargo Act (1807) and the abolition of the American slave trade (1808) made Amelia Island
Amelia Island
Amelia Island is one of the southernmost of the Sea Islands, a chain of barrier islands that stretches along the east coast of the United States from South Carolina to Florida. It is long and approximately 4 miles wide at its widest point. Amelia Island is situated off the coast in Nassau County,...
, on the coast of Spanish Florida
Spanish Florida
Spanish Florida refers to the Spanish territory of Florida, which formed part of the Captaincy General of Cuba, the Viceroyalty of New Spain, and the Spanish Empire. Originally extending over what is now the southeastern United States, but with no defined boundaries, la Florida was a component of...
, a resort for smugglers with sometimes as many as 300 square-rigged vessels in its harbor. To Amelia in June, 1817, came Gregor MacGregor
Gregor MacGregor
Gregor MacGregor was a Scottish soldier, adventurer, land speculator, and colonizer who fought in the South American struggle for independence. Upon his return to England in 1820, he claimed to be cacique of Poyais...
, a Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
adventurer styling himself the "brigadier general" of the United Provinces of the New Granada and Venezuela and general-in-chief of the armies of the two Floridas. A peripatetic military adventurer, McGregor raised funds and troops for a full-scale invasion of Florida throughout the United States, but he squandered the money on luxuries in the United States and as word of his conduct in South American wars reached the United States, much of his invasion force deserted. Nonetheless, he overran the island with a small force, but left for Nassau
Nassau, Bahamas
Nassau is the capital, largest city, and commercial centre of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. The city has a population of 248,948 , 70 percent of the entire population of The Bahamas...
in September.
His followers were soon joined by Louis-Michel Aury
Louis-Michel Aury
Louis-Michel Aury was a French Corsair operating in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean during the early 19th century.Aury was born in Paris, France, in about 1788. He served in the French Navy, but from 1802 served in privateer ships...
, formerly associated with McGregor in South American adventures, and previously leader of a pirates' gang on Galveston Island
Galveston Island
Galveston Island is a barrier island on the Texas Gulf coast in the United States, about 50 miles southeast of Houston. The entire island, with the exception of Jamaica Beach, is within the city limits of the City of Galveston....
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. Aury assumed control of Amelia, got a legislature elected, set a committee to drawing a constitution, and invited all Florida to unite in throwing off the Spanish yoke. For the very brief period that Aury controlled Amelia Island, the flag of Mexico was flown, which was the flag of his clients who were still fighting the Spanish in their war for indepependence at that time. The United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, which had plans to annex the peninsula, sent a naval force which captured Amelia Island on December 23, 1817, and put an end to the republic.