The most egregious intrusion by the French into Spanish Florida was on Mobile Bay, only 50 miles from Spanish Pensacola.
The French settled on Mobile Bay in 1702, but despite being competitors, their home countries barely supplied either settlement, and out of necessity, they regularly traded food, gunpowder, blankets, and other essentials. The French even sent a priest to reside at Santa María for several years and loaned the Spanish a ship to go to Veracruz for supplies.
However, a new war broke out in Europe in 1719, pitting France against Spain, and before the Spanish heard the news, the French made a surprise attack on Presidio Santa María, including Fort San Carlos, in Pensacola under a flag of truce and burned it to the ground.
Archaeologists found evidence of the destruction everywhere; burned buildings, burned posts, layers of charcoal, and burned and charred artifacts. The Spanish retreated to St. Joseph Bay and the French occupied the site on Pensacola Bay for three years, and for awhile it was the capital of French Louisiana.
Unearthing Florida is a project of WUWF Public Media, the Florida Public Archaeology Network(FPAN), and its founder, Dr. Judith Bense, since 1998. FPAN's Michael Thomin is a contributor to the program. WUWF's Sandra Averhart is the executive producer.
