Mauricio de Zúñiga

Mauricio de Zuñiga was a Spanish military that exerted as governor of West Florida between 1812 and 13, and 1816.

Early years
Mauricio de Zuniga was born in the 18th century, probably in El Prat de Llobregat, in Baix Llobregat (Barcelona Province, Catalonia, Spain). As a youth, he joined the Spanish army, where he was ascending until he took the post of Colonel.

Political career
July 1812, Mauricio de Zuniga was appointed governor of Florida, whose headquarter was in Pensacola. In this moment, the  strength of Prospect Bluff  was attracting fugitives  slaves  and refugees Amerindians  and the commander of the Military division of the Southern United States, Andrew Jackson, realizing that he was sending armies to the area that were not sufficient to eject slaves  and  Indians, decided that the Spanish authorities will help to expel him. So, Mauricio de Zúñiga, although he did not have enough troops to send against force and drive out the Naive Americans people and blacks, he did send to Captain Sebastián Pintado to investigate the matter and recover any runaway slave who belonged to the Spanish of East and West Florida. However, the following year, in April 1813, he left the office of governor of place.

Later, in March 1816, he returned to the post of governor. In this, because the concerned that Georgia´s slaves had for Negro Fort (Black Fort), who had many runaway slaves, of Saint Augustine, Jackson sent a threatening letter to Zuñiga, asking him to destroy the Negro Fort, because if he did not, he would do that. Zuñiga, who wanted to maintain good relations with the Native Americans of Florida, who would be outraged if Negro Fort is attacked, and at the same time did not want to suffer any attack by Jackson, replied that he was also concerned about the Fort, but he had waiting instructions from their superiors to do something with the Fort. Still, after a shot from one of the people working at the Fort against American supply ship, Jackson decided to attack and destroy the fort with his troops, which became effective on July 27 of that year (1816), killing almost all of its residents. Still so, after his destruction, the number of runaway slaves of Georgia that emigrated to Florida followed being significant.

However, he left the governor´s office of Florida in 15 September, 1816. He died at the end of this year.