1763 - The War is Over
The French and Indian War in North America, along with the global Seven Years War, officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris on 10 February 1763, by the kingdoms of Great Britain, France and Spain, with Portugal in agreement.
The British offered France the choice of surrendering either its continental North American possessions east of the Mississippi or the Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique, which had been occupied by the British.
France chose to cede its continental North American possessions in the east.
They viewed the economic value of the Caribbean islands' sugar cane to be greater and easier to defend than the furs from the continent.
The British, however, had ample places from which to obtain sugar and were happy to take New France, as defence of their North American colonies would no longer be an issue (though the absence of that threat eventually caused many colonists to conclude they no longer needed British protection).
The resulting peace dramatically changed the political landscape of North America.
The war changed economic, political, governmental, and social relations among the three European powers, their colonies, and the people who inhabited those territories.
Spain traded Florida to Britain in order to regain Cuba, but they also gained Louisiana from France, including New Orleans, in compensation for their losses.
The British takeover of Spanish Florida resulted in the westward migration of Indian tribes who did not want to do business with them.
This migration also caused a rise in tensions between the Choctaw and the Creek, historic enemies who were competing for land.
Some of these tribes would later migrate south and join other tribes to become the Florida Seminoles.
The change of control in Florida also prompted most of its Spanish Catholic population to leave.
Most went to Cuba, although some Christianized Yamasee were resettled to the coast of Mexico.
France and Britain both suffered financially because of the war, with significant long-term consequences.
The elimination of French power in America meant the disappearance of a strong ally for some Indian tribes.
1763 - British Occupation
As part of the treaty, France gave up nearly all of its land in North America and Spain handed Florida over to the British in exchange for Havana, Cuba, which the British had captured from Spain during the Seven Years' War (1756–63).
The British made the land into two colonies: West Florida and East Florida.
It is said that no one did more to increase the European population of Florida than James Grant, the first Governor of British East Florida from 1764 to 1771.
Grant saw the importance of peaceful relations and reciprocal trade with the Natives.
During his administration, the Timucuan tribes signed the Treaty of Fort Picolata, which set boundaries between the British and the Timucuan peoples.
This time of peace helped to lure settlers to East Florida.
William Bartram, a British Royal botanist, came to the area of present day Lake County, in order to study the local flora and fauna. In 1774, during his travels in the future Lake County, he made the first documented sighting of a royal palm tree in North America.
By 1775, the start of the Revolutionary War, all of Florida belonged to the British and those residing there were loyal to the crown.
A few white hunters and traders lived in the area that would become Lake County, together with runaway slaves and free black men, who found hiding in the scrub to be very effective means of evading the slave hunters.
[Contributors: Jason Brown]
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