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→British acquisition
Britain took official possession of Pensacola on [[August 7]], [[1763]], when a Captain Wills of the Third Battery of the Royal Artillery arrived from Havana to receive Pensacola from the Spanish commandant. On [[September 3]] Spain evacuated its troops and the town's citizens to Vera Cruz.<ref>Hamilton, Peter J. [http://books.google.com/books?id=_0wUAAAAYAAJ&printsec=titlepage#PPA399,M1 "British West Florida"]. ''Publications of the Mississippi Historical Society''. Oxford, Miss.: 1903.</ref>
According to a report written by Captain Wills, the town at that time consisted of "40 huts, thatched with palmetto leaves, and barracks for a small garrison, the whole surrounded by a stockade of pine posts."Wills went on to describe the terrain::''"The country, from the insuperable laziness of the Spaniards, still remains uncultivated. The woods are still near the village, and a few paltry gardens show the only improvements. Stock, they have none, being entirely supplied by Mobile, which is pretty well cultivated and produces sufficient for export."''<ref>Campbell, Richard L. [http://ia311206.us.archive.org/1/items/historicalsketch00camprich/historicalsketch00camprich.pdf "Historical Sketches of Colonial Florida"]. ''Publications of the Mississippi Historical Society''. The Williams Publishing Co., Cleveland: 1892.</ref>
===Revolutionary War===
