Van Buren, Martin (1782-1862) to Francisco Pacon
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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC04058 Author/Creator: Van Buren, Martin (1782-1862) Place Written: Washington, D.C. Type: Letter signed Date: 15 April 1829 Pagination: 2 p. ; 31.9 x 20.1 cm. Order a Copy
Written by Van Buren as Secretary of State. Acknowledges Pacon's letter of 11 April 1829 which provided "a List of all the Grants of Land, purporting to have been made in the Floridas, by the Government of His Catholic Majesty." This diplomatic letter deals with the messy entanglements and complications of territorial land issues between the United States and Spain in Florida. Spain ceded Florida to the United States in 1819, but the transition was messy because the King of Spain always exercised the right of granting lands to whomever he pleased. The American plan was to sell the land in Florida to pay for the voiding of the Spanish grants, and this list was part of the process to work out those sales.
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