Pensacola, Florida

Pensacola is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle and the county seat of Escambia County.^[3] As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 56,255 and as of 2006, the estimated population was 53,248.^[4] However, the Pensacola metropolitan area, comprising Escambia and Santa Rosa counties, had a population of 439,877.^[5]

Pensacola is a sea port on Pensacola Bay, which connects to the Gulf of Mexico. A large United States Navy airbase, the first in the United States, is located southwest of Pensacola (near the community of Warrington) and is home to the Blue Angels flight demonstration team and the National Museum of Naval Aviation. The main campus of the University of West Florida is situated north of the city center.

Pensacola is nicknamed "The City of Five Flags" due to the five governments that have flown flags over it during its history: the flags of Spain (Castile), France, Great Britain, the Confederate States of America, and the United States. Other nicknames include "World's Whitest Beaches" (due to the white sand prevalent along beaches in the Florida panhandle), "Cradle of Naval Aviation" (the National Museum of Naval Aviation is located at the Pensacola Naval Air Station, home of the legendary Blue Angels), "Western Gate to the Sunshine State," "America's First Settlement," "Emerald Coast," "Redneck Riviera," and "Red Snapper Capital of the World."

Pensacola, Florida has had a rich and colorful history dating nearly 450 years, being one of the earliest European settlement attempts in the continental United States (1559)^[6][7][8] and controlled by five countries. Pensacola's location has caused great turmoil, with many buildings destroyed by wars, and by numerous major hurricanes. The location, south of the original British colonies, and as the dividing line between French Louisiana and Spanish Florida, along the Perdido River, has caused the possession of the city to change multiple times. Pensacola has been under the possession of the Spanish, French, British, United States and Confederate States, and has remained a part of the United States since the end of the American Civil War. Along with wars, numerous hurricanes have been a major factor in Pensacola history.

Early exploration of Pensacola Bay (called Polonza or Ochuse) spanned decades, with Ponce de León (1513), Pánfilo de Narváez (1528), and Hernando de Soto (1539) plus others charting the area.^[8]

Due to prior exploration, the first settlement of Pensacola was large, landing on August 15, 1559,^[8] and led by Don Tristán de Luna y Arellano with over 1,400 people on 11 ships from Vera Cruz, Mexico.^[7] However, weeks later, the colony was decimated by a hurricane on September 19, 1559,^[7][8] which killed hundreds, sank five ships, grounded a caravel, and ruined supplies. The 1,000 survivors divided to relocate/resupply the settlement, but due to famine and attacks, the effort was abandoned in 1561.^[7] About 240 people sailed to Santa ElenaParris Island, South Carolina), but another storm hit there, so they sailed to Cuba and scattered.^[7] The remaining 50 at Pensacola were taken back to Mexico, and the Viceroy's advisers concluded northwest Florida was too dangerous to settle, for 135 years.^[7] (today's

Pensacola was permanently reestablished by the Spanish in 1696 on the mainland, near Fort Barrancas (see map),^[9] and became the largest city in Florida, as the capital of the British colony of West Florida in 1763. Another major hurricane devastated the settlement in 1722, causing the French occupation to evacuate, and the Spanish returned.

The Spanish built three presidios in Pensacola:^[10]

• Presidio Santa Maria de Galve (1698-1719): the presidio included fort San Carlos de Austria (east of present Fort Barrancas) and a village with church;^[10]
• Presidio Isla de Santa Rosa (1722-1752): this next presidio was on Santa Rosa Island near the site of present Fort Pickens, but hurricanes battered the island in 1741 and 1752, and the presidio was closed and moved to the mainland;^[10]
• Presidio San Miguel de Panzacola (1754-1763): the final presidio was about five miles east of the first presidio, over in the present-day historic district of downtown Pensacola, named from "Panzacola" (of Spain).^[10]

From 1763, the British went back to the mainland area of fort San Carlos de Barrancas, building the Royal Navy Redoubt, and Pensacola became the capital of the 14th British colony, West Florida. After Spain joined the American Revolution late, in 1779, the Spanish captured East Florida and West Florida, regaining Pensacola from (1781-1819).^[6] In an 1819 Transcontinental Treaty (Adams-Onis), Spain renounced its claims to West Florida and ceded East Florida to the U.S. (US$5 million).^[6] In 1821, with Andrew Jackson as provisional governor, Pensacola became part of the United States.^[6]