Editing Seminole Wars (section)

===Early conflict===

During the [[American Revolutionary War]], the British, who controlled Florida, recruited Seminoles to raid Patriot-aligned settlements on the Georgia frontier. The confusion of war allowed American slaves to escape to Florida, where local British authorities promised them their freedom for in exchange for military service. These events made the new United States enemies of the Seminoles. In 1783, as part of the [[Treaty of Paris (1783)|treaty]] ending the [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]], Florida, was returned to Spain. Spain's grip on Florida was light, as it maintained only small [[garrison]]s at St. Augustine, [[St. Marks, Florida|St. Marks]] and [[Pensacola, Florida|Pensacola]]. They did not control the border between Florida and the United States and were unable to act against the [[State of Muskogee]] established in 1799, envisioned as a single nation of American Indians independent of both Spain and the United States, until 1803 when both nations conspired to entrap its founder. Mikasukis and other Seminole groups still occupied towns on the United States side of the border, while American [[squatter]]s moved into Spanish Florida.<ref>Missall. pp. 12–13, 18</ref>

The British had divided Florida into [[East Florida]] and [[West Florida]] in 1763, a division retained by the Spanish when they regained Florida in 1783. West Florida extended from the [[Apalachicola River]] to the [[Mississippi River]]. Together with their possession of [[Louisiana (New France)|Louisiana]], the Spanish controlled the lower reaches of all of the rivers draining the United States west of the [[Appalachian Mountains]]. It prohibited the US from transport and trade on the lower Mississippi. In addition to its desire to expand west of the mountains, the United States wanted to acquire Florida. It wanted to gain free commerce on western rivers, and to prevent Florida from being used a base for possible invasion of the U.S. by a European country.<ref>Missall. pp. 13, 15–18.</ref>