José María Callava was the final governor of

Spanish West Florida Spanish West Florida ( Spanish: ''Florida Occidental'') was a province of the Spanish Empire from 1783 until 1821, when both it and East Florida were ceded to the United States. The region of West Florida initially had the same borders as the e ...

, serving from February 1819 to the time of Spain's transfer of the territory to the United States on 17 July 1821. Callava was an officer in the Spanish military who had been rapidly promoted due to his service in the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French ...

— the Battle of Almonacid in particular, for which he was knighted into the

Royal and Military Order of Saint Hermenegild The Royal and Military Order of Saint Hermenegild () is both a general military honor and a legion created by Ferdinand VII, King Ferdinand VII of Spain on 28 November 1814. The Royal and Military Order of Saint Hermenegild is a military award, ...

in 1811. He became a colonel and governor in February 1819, before he reached the age of 40. James Parton's ''Life of Andrew Jackson'' describes Callava thus: ''He was a Castilian, of a race akin to the Saxon, of light complexion, a handsome, well-grown man, of dignified presence and refined manners.'' After the transfer of Florida to the United States as part of the

Adams–Onís Treaty The Adams–Onís Treaty () of 1819, also known as the Transcontinental Treaty, the Spanish Cession, the Florida Purchase Treaty, or the Florida Treaty,Weeks, p. 168. was a treaty between the United States and Spain in 1819 that ceded Florida to ...

, Callava remained for a time in

Pensacola Pensacola ( ) is a city in the Florida panhandle in the United States. It is the county seat and only city in Escambia County. The population was 54,312 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Pensacola metropolitan area, which ha ...

acting as a representative of Spain and overseeing the embarkation of artillery and other unfinished business. During this time, Callava came into conflict with

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before Presidency of Andrew Jackson, his presidency, he rose to fame as a general in the U.S. Army and served in both houses ...

, the newly appointed military commissioner and governor of the

Florida Territory The Territory of Florida was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 30, 1822, until March 3, 1845, when it was admitted to the Union as the state of Florida. Originally the major portion of the Spanish ...

, due to a dispute over the estate of

Nicolás María Vidal Don Nicolás María Vidal y Madrigal (10 December 1739 – 25 May 1806) was a colonial official in Spanish Louisiana and Spanish Florida from 1799–1801. Biography Vidal was born in Cartagena de Indias in 1739 to Pedro Luis Vidal and Josefi ...

, a Spanish official in Louisiana and Florida. Callava was ordered to hand over documents related to the disposition of the estate to Vidal's daughters by

Eufrosina Hinard Eufrosina Hinard (also spelled Hisnard; 1777 ''after'' 1819), was a businesswoman who lived in New Orleans and Pensacola, Spanish West Florida. Hinard, a free mixed-race woman, owned and bought slaves and allowed them to purchase their own freedom ...

; when he did not comply, Jackson had him jailed and had the records removed from Callava's house.Jackson sent Captain Francis Dade to apprehend Callava. Once the records were in American hands, Jackson released Callava. Callava blamed the dispute, in part, on a lack of translators to aid in communication between himself and the Americans. Following his release, Callava headed to Washington to lodge a formal complaint against Jackson through the Spanish minister. Callava also published in Havana a manifesto outlining the "outrages and vexations" () committed against him by Jackson.

References

External links

Manifiesto sobre las tropelías y vejaciones ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cavalla, Jose Maria Colonial United States (Spanish) Royal governors of La Florida Pre-statehood history of Florida