Probably not one American in a hundred knows anything about the short-lived Republic of West Florida (1810), which extended east from the Mississippi River and along the Gulf Coast to the Perdido River. This venture, born of low-level filibuster and high-level intrigue, illustrates the same ingrained American propensity for land grabbing so evident in other U.S. territorial acquisition.

Robert Higgs is Retired Senior Fellow in Political Economy, Founding Editor and former Editor at Large of The Independent Review.
American HistoryLaw and LibertyProperty Rights, Land Use, and ZoningRegulation
Other Independent Review articles by Robert Higgs
Fall 2019 Pressure-Release Valves in Participatory Fascism
Winter 2018/19 Two Worlds: Politics and Everything Else
Fall 2018 Against the Whole Concept and Construction of the Balance of International Payments
[View All (62)]