Alternative History
Florida
— State of Confederate States
Timeline: Differently
Flag of Florida
Flag of Florida
Location of Florida
Location of Florida
Capital Tallahassee
Largest city Jacksonville
Governor Ron DeSantis
Area
 - Total  170,312 km2 
65,758 sq mi 
Population 20,984,400 

Florida is one of the fourteen states of the Confederate States of America. It is located on a peninsula between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean, bordering Georgia to the north and Alabama to the northeast. Its capital is Tallahassee and its largest city is Jacksonville. Other large cities include Miami, Tampa, and Orlando. In 2021 Florida had a fertility rate of 1.68.

History[]

Pre-colonization[]

Various Native American groups have inhabited Florida for at least 14,000 years.

European discovery[]

In 1513, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León became the first known European to make landfall, calling the region La Florida ("The Flowering One") for its lush greenery and the Easter season (Pascua Florida in Spanish).

Spanish colony (1566–1763)[]

The area became one of the first areas to be permanently settled by Europeans, with the Spanish colony of St. Augustine, founded in 1565, being the oldest continuously inhabited city.

From 1687, fugitive slaves from the Thirteen Colonies to Spanish Florida were granted freedom in return for conversion to Catholicism and four years of military service. In 1738, Fort Mosé, one of the first legal settlements of free blacks, was established.

British colony (1763–83)[]

In 1763, Spain traded Florida to the Kingdom of Great Britain for control of Havana, Cuba, which had been captured by the British during the Seven Years' War. In the secret agreement known as the Treaty of Fountainbleau, the Kingdom of France ceded Louisiana to Spain as compensation for the loss of Spanish Florida to Britain. A large portion of the Florida population left, taking along large portions of the remaining indigenous population with them to Cuba. The British soon constructed the King's Road connecting St. Augustine to Georgia. The road crossed the St. Johns River at a narrow point called Wacca Pilatka, or the British name "Cow Ford", reflecting the fact that cattle were brought across the river there.

The British divided and consolidated the Florida provinces (Las Floridas) into East Florida and West Florida. A number of British settlers who were described as being "energetic and of good character" moved to Florida, mostly coming from South Carolina, Georgia and England. There was also a group of settlers who came from the colony of Bermuda. The British constructed good public roads and introduced the cultivation of sugar cane, indigo and fruits, as well as the export of lumber.

Neither East Florida nor West Florida sent any representatives to Philadelphia to draft the Declaration of Independence of the United States. Florida remained a Loyalist stronghold for the duration of the American Revolution.

Second Spanish colony (1783–1821)[]

Spain regained both East and West Florida after Britain's defeat in the American Revolution. Defense of Florida's northern border with the United States was minor during the second Spanish period. The region became a haven for escaped slaves and a base for Indian attacks against U.S. territories, and the U.S. pressed Spain for reform.

American settlers established a permanent foothold in the area and ignored Spanish authorities.

The period included the First Seminole War (1814–19), starting a series of conflicts between settlers and the main natives, the Seminoles.

U.S. territory (1821–45)[]

Florida had become a burden to Spain, which could not afford to send settlers or troops due to the devastation caused by the Peninsular War. Madrid, therefore, decided to cede the territory to the United States through the Adams–Onís Treaty, which took effect in 1821. On March 30, 1822, the U.S. Congress merged East Florida and part of West Florida into the Florida Territory. The period was marked by the Second Seminole War (1835–42), with ended with no peace treaty and approximately 4,000 Seminoles forcibly transported to Indian Territory while 350 remained in Florida.

U.S. state (1845–61)[]

On March 3, 1845, only one day before the end of President John Tyler's term in office, Florida became the 27th state, admitted as a slave state and no longer a sanctuary for runaway slaves. Initially its population grew slowly. As European settlers continued to encroach on Seminole lands, the United States intervened to move the remaining Seminoles to the West. The Third Seminole War (1855–58) resulted in the forced removal of most of the remaining Seminoles, although hundreds of Seminole Indians remained in the Everglades.

American settlers began to establish cotton plantations in north Florida, which required numerous laborers, which they supplied by buying slaves in the domestic market. By 1860, Florida had only 140,424 people, of whom 44% were enslaved. There were fewer than 1,000 free African Americans around 1860.

On January 10, 1861, nearly all delegates in the Florida Legislature approved an ordinance of secession, declaring Florida to be "a sovereign and independent nation"—an apparent reassertion to the preamble in Florida's Constitution of 1838, in which Florida agreed with Congress to be a "Free and Independent State." The ordinance declared Florida's secession from the Union, allowing it to become one of the founding members of the Confederate States.

C.S. state (1861–1935)[]

During the War for Southern Independence, the Confederacy received little military help from Florida; the 15,000 troops it offered were generally sent elsewhere. Instead of troops and manufactured goods, Florida did provide salt and, more importantly, beef to feed the Confederate armies.

After the war, however, Florida became an economic pivot of the Confederacy.

C.A.S.S. state (1935–78)[]

In 1935, Florida was the place of the Everglade Revolt, one of the events that marked the establishment of the Confederation of American Socialist States (CASS). Floridan troops had a central role at the war.

Reestablished C.S. state (since 1978)[]

With the defeat of the CASS in the American War, Florida was returned to regular Confederate control. It has since been experiencing an economic boom with the rest of the country.