Pensacola is the county seat of Escambia County, FL. It 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 and is home to the Blue Angels flight demonstration team and the National Museum of Naval Aviation.Pensacola is nicknamed "The City of Five Flags" due to the five flags that have flown over it during its history: the flags of Spain (Castile), France, Great Britian, 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 has had a rich and colorful history over 450 years, being the first settlement in the continental United States (1559) and controlled by 5 nations. Although Pensacola is the oldest settlement, its 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 Pensacola to change ownership several times. Pensacola has been under the possession of the Spanish, French, British, United States, Confederate States, and has remained a part of the U.S. 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. Due to prior exploration, the first settlement of Pensacola was large, landing on August 15, 1559, and led by Don Tristán de Luna y Arellano with over 1,400 people on 11 ships from Vera Cruz, Mexico. However, weeks later, the colony was decimated by a hurricane on September 19, 1559, which killed hundreds, sank 5 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. About 240 people sailed to Santa Elena (near South Carolina), but another storm hit there, so they sailed to Cuba and scattered. 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.Pensacola was permanently reestablished by the Spanish in 1696 on the mainland, near Fort Barrancas, 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.
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). 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). In 1821, with Andrew Jackson as provisional governor, Pensacola became part of the United States.James Nixon Jr. and Christine Daniel moved to Pensacola in the early 1950s, after Nixon graduated from the University of Florida's law school. All of their children were born in Pensacola, grew up and settled down to raise families in America's first settlement.
