Pontiac who were stubbornly resisting English rule. The English did not complete the occupation of the eastern Mississippi basin until Capt. Thos. Stirling captured Fort Chartres, and the French retired across the Mississippi river into the village of St. Louis.

George Johnstone, the first English governor of West Florida, changed the name of Fort Condé to Fort Charlotte. He did this in honor of Queen Charlotte, the wife of George III of England. In 1765, the English began the purchase of lands from the Indians. This opened West Florida and the whole southwest territory to white settlement. Trade increased; agriculture and general business flourished in spite of storms, sickness, and other disasters. The people were pleased with their new masters.

1765

1779

In 1779, England declared war against Spain. Galvez (gäl' vath), the young Spanish governor of Louisiana, made a dash upon the English forts in the south, and captured them one after another before the British could interfere. Mobile fell into his hands in 1780, and the following year he captured Mar. 4, Pensacola, the capital of West Florida. Thus England lost possession of the Gulf coast.

12. Under Spanish Rule.-Mobile remained a Spanish stronghold for thirty-two years. Spanish commanders succeeded one another so rapidly as to unsettle the people. Spain declared war against France to check the efforts of French agents who were trying to stir up trouble in the Spanish colonies of America. She invited the annexation of Kentucky, made extensive land-grants, and claimed 32° 28' north latitude as the northern boundary of her terri

1780

1794

1795

1799

Apr. 15, 1813

tory between the Chattahoochee and the Mississippi. The United States claimed down to 31°, and taking advantage of Spain's troubles with Napoleon Bonaparte, pressed the claim so strongly through Thomas Pinckney at the Treaty of Madrid that Spain yielded.

Spanish authorities at Mobile and Pensacola placed many obstacles in the way of the American engineer, Andrew Ellicott, who had been sent to run the boundary line of 31°, and his survey was not completed until 1799. Ellicott's Stone, set up below St. Stephens, marked the dividing line between Spanish and American territory. Americans living above 31° north latitude suffered great inconvenience and expense because of heavy duties on freights passing through mouths of rivers under Spanish control; prices were increased about fourfold by freights and double duties.

The United States claimed the Perdido river as the eastern limit of the Louisiana Purchase.* Spain claimed that Mobile had been completely cut off from Louisiana by the Treaty of Paris, and that she held the city by right of conquest from the British in 1780. General James Wilkinson moved against it with American troops and captured it. The stars and stripes floated from its fort, and since that time it has remained under American rule. A year before this, Mobile county had been formed out of Washing

*In 1803 the United States bought from France all her possessions in America. The territory sold to the United States was known as the Louisiana Purchase.

ton county by proclamation of David Holmes, governor of Mississippi Territory.

13. Under American Rule.-For more than a hundred years Mobile had been the center of colonial life. It had sent out explorers, traders, warriors, and missionaries. As soon as it was attached to the United States, it began to grow in importance. The British envied its transfer to the United States and plotted with Spain for its recapture. An English fleet, supported by a land force, was driven back from Fort Bowyer (bō'yer) on Mobile Point by Major Lawrence.

General Jackson stormed and captured Pensacola from the combined forces of England and Spain. Two months later he won the battle of New Orleans, defeating with a small force the large British army under General Packenham (pak' en ăm). After this the British captured Fort Bowyer, but peace had been declared by the Treaty of Ghent (gent), and the Britons were recalled to their island home.

1814

Jan. 8, 1815

Mobile was chartered as a city by the legislature of Alabama, December 19, 1819. Its favorable position Dec. 19, on Mobile Bay gave it the advantages of both river and ocean trade.

14. Mobile as a Commercial Center. The rich lands bordering the Alabama and Tombigbee rivers and their tributaries were early occupied by intelligent, thrifty planters, who conducted business through commission merchants and agents in Mobile. Happy negroes labored for the production of corn, cotton, pumpkins, melons, fruits, potatoes, peas, pindars, and everything else that a soil and climate

1819

of rare excellence could produce. Cotton was the king of products; it meant cash. Steamers that plied the beautiful rivers carried regularly to Mobile loads of cotton and other products of the fields, and returned with sugar, coffee, clothing, and other necessaries and luxuries for the planters. Other towns and cities might check for a time the passage of products, but sooner or later Mobile received them or shared in their profits.

15. Mobile as a Social Center.-Mobile was a brilliant social center. Its beautiful old Southern homes offered a Southern welcome to visitors. The Christmas season was especially attractive. Planters would gather there at that time to make settlements and arrange for supplies for the ensuing year. Families from the country went there to enjoy the holiday festivities. The city attracted the beauty and chivalry, the virtue and intelligence of the land. A half century shed its glories on this happy state of things; but they were destined to cease.

SUMMARY

The French planned by colonies along the Mississippi to squeeze the British out of America, and to establish a great French empire in America. La Salle named the southern portion of this region Louisiana in honor of Louis XIV of France. Iberville founded the colony of Louisiana by settlements at Biloxi and at Fort Louis de la Mobile. New Orleans was founded by Bienville, who, except during the governorships of Cadillac, L'Epinay, and Perier, was in command of the colony from 1701 to 1743. British successes in the French and Indian wars lost to France all her possessions in America. Louisiana east of the Mississippi, except New Orleans and the Isle of Orleans, fell to the British. Galvez captured Mobile for Spain, and General James

The

Wilkinson wrested it from Spain for the United States. English tried to recapture it in the War of 1812, but failed. It became a great commercial and social center.

QUESTIONS

1. Why was settlement of the Gulf coast delayed? 2. Tell of La Salle's explorations and plans. 3. Give an account of the settlement at Biloxi; at Twenty-seven-mile Bluff; at Mobile. 4. What troubles did the colonists have with the Alibamons, and how were these troubles settled? 5. Describe the work of the missionaries. 6. Give an account of the colony under Crozat. 7. What forts were built and for what purposes? 8. Sketch the work of Bienville. 9. What was the "Mississippi Scheme" and what was its effect upon the colony? 10. When and how did French rule close? 11. Give an account of Mobile under British rule; under Spanish rule; under American rule. 12. Describe Mobile as a commercial center; as a social center.