Vicente Folch y Juan
| Juan Vicente Folch y Juan | |
|---|---|
| 5ª Governor of West Florida | |
| In office June 1796 – March 1811 | |
| Preceded by | Francisco de Paula Gelabert |
| Succeeded by | Francisco San Maxent |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1754 |
| Died | 1829 |
| Profession | Military officer and Spanish governor of West Florida |
Juan Vicente Folch y Juan (1754–1829)[1] was a Spanish military officer who served as the Governor of West Florida for nearly fifteen years, between 1796 and 1811.
Career
Juan Vicente Folch y Juan joined to Spanish army in his youth, place where he stressed, obtaining the Lieutenant colonel title.[2]
So, in 1771, was commissioned in the army. He participated in the military campaigns in North Africa and the Mediterranean for several years. In 1780, Folch arrived in America, place where he ascended through several ranks, becoming commandant at Mobile (modern Alabama) and Pensacola (Florida).[1]
In June 1796 he was appointed governor of West Florida.[3]
After visit Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Folch visited with frequency New Orleans. When he travel there, he insisted on receiving "as much respect as the former boundary commissioner had demanded". In addition, he promotes the construction of roads in Florida and try to reorganize and reinforce their troops in the forts at Pensacola and Mobile.[4]
He promoted the built of roads in Mobile to built for better the protection of Baton Rouge. In addition, in August, after receiving the notice of Kemper's insurrection in Baton Rouge and fearing that the insurrection threatened Spanish control in Florida, Folch sent a troop of 150 soldiers from Pensacola to suppress the Kempers insurrection of Baton Rouge, arriving there in September.[5]
In 1811, fearing the possibility that Great Britain occupied Florida in its war against Napoleon, Folch decided to give West Florida to the United States temporarily.[5]
Folch was replaced by Francisco San Maxent in March 1811 in the Government of West Florida.[3]
Folch died in 1829.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 National Archives. Founders Online: To James Madison from William C. C. Claiborne and James Wilkinson, 27 February 1804.
- ↑ PDF - Tampa Bay History. University of Florida.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Governors. Retrieved in July 10, 2014, to 18:10pm.
- ↑ Borderlines in Borderlands: James Madison and the Spanish-American Frontier, 1776-1821. Written by J. C. A. Stagg. Page 56.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Failed Filibusters: The Kemper Rebellion, the Burr Conspiracy and Early American Expansion. Posted by Francis D. Cogliano.