Spanish Florida refers to the
Spanish territory of
Florida, which formed part of the
Captaincy General of Cuba, the
Viceroyalty of New Spain, and the
Spanish Empire. Originally extending over what is now the
southeastern United States, but with no defined boundaries, Florida was a component of the
Spanish colonization of the Americas and the expansion of the Spanish Empire. Wide-ranging expeditions were mounted into the
hinterland during the 16th century, but Spain never exercised complete control over
La Florida beyond the area of what are now the
U.S. states of
Florida, southern
Georgia, southern
Alabama, southern
Mississippi, and southeastern
Louisiana. (
Colonial Texas was in a different Captaincy General.)