A Study Of The Civil Government Of British East Florida

The purpose of this study was to investigate the methods and processes of the civil government of the province of British East Florida and (1) to determine whether features of the government were unique and (2) to discover the reasons for any unusual features so discovered. All general works on Florida history which were available in the libraries of the Palm Beach and Miami areas of Florida were examined for relevant material. All issues of the Florida Historical Quarterly were examined and all relevant material was read. Much of the material for the study was taken from transcriptions of microfilms of original British Colonial Office Records for the years 1763 to 1784 which were available in the city of Miami, Florida Library. It was found that the government of British East Florida was unique in that the inhabitants were not taxed, that there was no legislative assembly during most of the colony's existence, and that the colonial population was almost completely loyal to the British crown.