The Old Country
1776
Independence
1776 British Map of Florida
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At the conclusion of the Revolutionary War, the British colonies gained their independence and the United States was formed. Under British control, the interior of Florida was seldom ventured into by the white men and remain the largely the domain of the Seminoles. Many Floridians remained loyalist to the British Crown and did not support the Revolutionary War and after the revolution Florida remained under British control until Treaty of Paris in 1783 which returned all of Florida back to Spain and once again there was mass exodus with many of the British loyalists departing.
At the time of the American Revolution in 1776, the original thirteen colonies were well established, yet central Florida and the Old Country remain empty, well mostly. A 1776 map shows the area of Alachua as “now uninhabited”, although it was well known that it was inhabited by the Native Indians who were known as the Seminoles.