Mateo González Manrique
Mateo González Manrique | |
|---|---|
10th Spanish Governor of West Florida | |
| In office 1813–1815 | |
| Preceded by | Mauricio de Zúñiga |
| Succeeded by | José de Soto |
| Personal details | |
| Profession | Soldier and statesman |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Spain |
| Branch/service | Spanish Army |
| Commands | Spanish Florida |
Mateo González Manrique was a soldier who served as governor of West Florida between 1813 and 1815. During his administration he helped the British in their fight against the Americans in the War of 1812, providing them with troops and slaves, and allowed them to garrison British troops in the fortifications at Pensacola, capital of West Florida. He thereby earned the enmity of Andrew Jackson, who invaded the city in 1814, although he returned it to Manrique after the British fled.
Career
Manrique joined the Spanish army in his youth, rising to the ranks of lieutenant colonel and sergeant major. In 1813, Manrique was appointed governor of Spanish West Florida.[1]
War of 1812
Although the Spanish government was officially neutral during the War of 1812, Manrique assisted the British with material aid and allowed them to use the Spanish fortifications at Barrancas and Saint Michael as well as to supply their Native American allies.[2]
According to historian Sean Michael O'Brien, Manrique, fearing a possible attack by Jackson's forces, invited
Andrew Jackson criticized Manrique for allowing British agents to operate in Pensacola and warned him that he would consider him personally responsible for any depredations suffered by American citizens, and that he would encourage the Indians to take revenge against him.[7]
Jackson, believing that the British were conspiring with the Spanish and the Creeks against American interests, demanded that Manrique expel them from Florida. He then led an American army to seize the city, and arrived there on November 6, 1814.[2] During the battle, the Spanish garrison offered little resistance to Jackson's assault.[9] The British consequently abandoned Fort Barrancas and left Florida, fleeing with several hundred Indians in a British ship. Jackson considered that he had extinguished the conspiracy and returned Pensacola to Manrique.[2]
According to historian Eric Beerman, in December 1814 prior to the
Manrique's term as governor of West Florida ended in 1815; he was replaced by José de Soto.
References
- ^ Biblioteca Virtual: Estados mayores de plazas|banrepcultural.org (in Spanish: Virtual Library: High States of squares).
- ^ ISBN 978-0-230-11564-4.
- ^ a b O'Brien, Sean Michael. In Bitterness and in Tears: Andrew Jackson's Destruction of the Creeks and Seminoles. Page 170.
- ^ Marshall, John (1829). . Royal Naval Biography. Vol. sup, part 3. London: Longman and company. p. 65.
- ^ Boyd, Mark F. (October 1937). "Events at Prospect Bluff on the Apalachicola River, 1808–18". Florida Historical Quarterly.
- OCLC 1413399. P=11. "[Nicolls] enlisted and publicly drilled Indians, who wore the British uniform in the streets [of Pensacola]."
- ISBN 978-0-674-04291-9.
- ISBN 978-0-8173-5573-9.
- ISBN 978-1-85109-957-3.
- ^ E. Beerman. La obra del canario Pintado en la Biblioteca del Congreso (in Spanish: The work of the Canarian Pintado in the Library of Congress). Retrieved in July 01, 2015, to 16:20 pm.