Pensacola Settlers
The population of the small coastal presidio at Pensacola
temporarily swelled in times of colonial and imperial warfare, first against
the British and later against the French; but the increases were only temporary,
as the settlement's reputation did not encourage the large-scale civilian colonization
that would have perpetuated a stable population. The military engineer Jaime
Franck summed up his feelings about Pensacola in a letter to the Viceroy in
February 1699: "the only thing that this fort and its Presidio can be used
for, is a place of tortuous exile and for the punishment of the wicked"
(Franck, 1699b). With such endorsements, Santa María de Galve remained
a sparsely populated frontier settlement.
The population of convict laborers, a spattering of civilians, converted Native
Americans and foreign residents added diversity to the fortified settlement.
Individuals who had run afoul of criminal and ecclesiastical laws could be found
there, as could a few civilians. Typically, between one and three Franciscan
friars administered to the religious needs of the community and one or two surgeon-friars
of the Order of San Juan de Dios oversaw the hospital. Also resident on the
Barrancas were Native Americans and servants and slaves of presidio officers.
Finally, a very few foreign European guests took up residence in the community,
serving the garrison in a number of capacities including soldiers, sailors or
skilled laborers (Clune, Forthcoming).
The settlement's population fluctuated frequently, sometimes sharply. As in
the case of St. Augustine, officials in Mexico calculated supply needs for Pensacola
on the basis of both reported and authorized numbers (Bushnell, 1994:45). Whatever
the official or authorized population, sickness, disease and injury ensured
that the number of able-bodied individuals rarely, if ever, approached the settlement's
authorized strength. After initial settlement, the settlement's population increased
with the arrival of fresh troops and convict laborers from Veracruz, émigrés
from the neighboring Spanish province of Apalachee, shipwreck victims, a few
civilians and even fewer foreigners. In February 1699, the population of the
presidio stood at 260 (Franck, 1699a). A year later, in February 1700, it had
declined to about 180 (Franck, 1700a). After a yellow fever epidemic in 1702,
the population of Santa María de Galve rebounded beyond its earlier numbers--a
result of the arrival of refugees from Apalachee beginning in 1703 (Arriola,
1704b; Coker, 1998:32).
The Spanish found it virtually impossible to cultivate a large friendly Native
American presence at the Presidio. Refugee Indians from Apalachee swelled the
population of Santa María de Galve in the first years of the eighteenth
century. However, many of the refugees continued on to Mobile. Some refugees
remained in Pensacola for a few years before joining a growing contingent in
Mobile (Arriola, 1704d; Dysart, 1999:64). Those who remained for a spell placed
a strain on scarce food supplies.