-AUTHOR AND LECTURER-
MIKE BUNN
Fourteenth Colony: The Forgotten Story of the Gulf South During America's Revolutionary Era
The British colony of West Florida—which once stretched from the mighty Mississippi to the shallow bends of the Apalachicola and portions of what are now the states of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana—is the forgotten fourteenth colony of America's Revolutionary era. The colony's eventful years as a part of the British Empire form an important and compelling interlude in Gulf Coast history that has for too long been overlooked. For a host of reasons, including the fact that West Florida did not rebel against the British government, the colony has long been dismissed as a loyal but inconsequential fringe outpost, if considered at all. But the colony's history showcases a tumultuous political scene featuring a halting attempt at instituting representative government; a host of bold and colorful characters; a compelling saga of struggle and perseverance in the pursuit of financial stability; and a dramatic series of battles on land and water which brought about the end of its days under the Union Jack. In Fourteenth Colony, historian Mike Bunn offers the first comprehensive history of the colony, introducing readers to the Gulf Coast's remarkable British period and putting West Florida back in its rightful place on the map of colonial America.
“Mike Bunn has written the first thorough history of West Florida, a British colony in America during the era of the American Revolution. Fourteenth Colony is good history and a good read, and it adds significantly to our knowledge of colonial America and the Revolutionary War.”
— John Ferling, author of several books on early America, including
Apostles of Revolution and Independence: The Struggle to Set America Free
"Mike Bunn's groundbreaking new book Fourteenth Colony takes readers where few have gone before, to an all-but-forgotten English outpost in the land of live oaks and Spanish moss on the Gulf coast.
Combining groundbreaking research with mature judgments and crisp narrative, Fourteenth Colony
will surely be the definitive work on one colony that somehow escaped becoming another stripe on Old
Glory.”
— William C. Davis, author of The Rogue Republic: How Would-Be Patriots Waged
the Shortest Revolution in American History and A Way Through the Wilderness:
The Natchez Trace and the Civilization of the Southern Frontier
“At last we have an easy-to-read book that corrects the long-embraced notion of thirteen American colonies rising in revolution against Britain. Fourteenth Colony will open many eyes to a startling historical omission just as it will force reconsideration of how we teach, and interpret, the American Revolution.”
—-Samuel C. Hyde, Jr., Leon Ford Endowed Chair, Professor of History,
Southeastern Louisiana University and author of A Fierce and Fractious Frontier:
The Curious Development of Louisiana's Florida Parishes, 1699-2000
"Mike Bunn has written a thorough synthesis of every important aspect of British West Florida history. Nothing quite like this currently exists. This will be a very useful book.”
— Robin Fabel, author of The Economy of British West Florida; Professor of History Emeritus,
Auburn University
"A readable and well-researched history of British West Florida has long been overdue. In briskly paced prose, Bunn explores Britain’s underappreciated ‘fourteenth colony’ from its straggling Mississippi River outposts to its Gulfside Pensacola capital. Nicely done!”
— John S. Sledge, author of The Mobile River and The Gulf of Mexico: A Maritime History
"A readable and illuminating exploration of a chapter of American history most readers haven’t previously encountered."
— Kirkus Reviews
"Bunn combines deep scholarship with vivid storytelling...history buffs will appreciate this comprehensive record of the period."
— Publisher's Weekly
"An excellent, well-researched introduction to a long-forgotten British colony of America’s Revolutionary era."
— Library Journal
"Easy to read, Bunn’s narrative is engaging, well written, and full of interesting material."
— Journal of the American Revolution
"A comprehensive, yet easy-to-read examination of a little-known chapter in America's history."
— The Literary South Review
"Riveting history"
— Jackson Clarion-Ledger/Hattiesburg American Mississippi Books Page
"Bunn’s accomplishment with Fourteenth Colony is an impressive one. Accessible and captivating colonial history and wartime exploits are presented with a striking human dimension. Bunn illuminates obscure history in a palatable and compulsively readable way. I learned something on every page of Fourteenth Colony..."
— Alabama Writer's Forum
