Mauricio de Zúñiga

Political career First tenure In July 1812, Zúñiga was appointed governor of West Florida, and moved to its capital, Pensacola. He served in that office until April 1813. Following their defeats at Mobile and Pensacola, the British returned to Prospect Bluff to reorganize. Over the next few months, an assembly of nearly 1500 British troops and Indian allies of the British gathered at the fort, working and training under the leadership of George Woodbine and Edward Nicolls. They were joined by several hundred fugitive African American slaves and Blacks redeemed from their bondage to the Indians. The British withdrew from the post on May 16, 1815 and left the Black population in occupation.

After Zúñiga resumed the governorship of West Florida in March 1816, Andrew Jackson, commander of the Southern Military Division of the United States, wrote him on April 23, and demanded that the Spanish authorities immediately intervene to destroy or remove the denizens of the fort and the surrounding community of escaped slaves and Indians.

Zúñiga, who wanted to maintain good relations with the Native Americans of Florida (who would be outraged if the Negro Fort was attacked) and, at the same time, wanted to avoid a military invasion by Jackson, stated in his reply dated May 26, 1816, that he also was concerned about the fort, but awaited instructions from his superiors what to do about the matter.

Soon afterward, however, someone from the fort fired shots at an American supply ship. This gave Jackson the excuse he needed to order the attack and destruction of the fort by General Edmund P. Gaines on July 27, 1816, in which almost all of its residents were killed. Nevertheless, the number of runaway slaves from Georgia who subsequently fled to Florida was still significant.

Zúñiga's term as governor ended on 15 September 1816, and he died near the end of that year.