Plaza Ferdinand Vii

Plaza Ferdinand VII, named for the King of Spain, was the center of Pensacola town life during the Colonial era and is home to the bronze bust of Andrew Jackson that marks one of Pensacola’s historical turning points. The cession of west Florida to the United States from Spain occurred at the Plaza on July 17th, 1821. General Jackson made a speech to the citizens, declaring that the land was now the Florida Territory and that Pensacola would be the capital of the west half of the territory. Jackson was sworn in as the first Territorial Governor in Plaza Ferdinand, beginning his brief tenure as Florida’s first military governor. The Jackson monument stands at the site of his inauguration in the historical heart of Pensacola.