Tampa has a fresh reason to look at the American Revolution with new eyes. Mapping the 14th Colony: British Florida and the American Revolution is on view from July 3 through November 29, 2026, in the Touchton Map Library at the Tampa Bay History Center, and it tells a chapter of the founding story that is often overlooked.
While the original 13 colonies joined the fight for independence, East Florida and West Florida remained loyal to the British crown. The exhibition follows the British Floridas from their transfer from Spain to Great Britain in 1763, through the Revolution, to their return to Spain under the 1783 Treaty of Paris.
Featuring dozens of original maps and charts, the show offers a fresh look for America250 at this surprising history. Visitors can follow loyalists in St. Augustine and the capture of Mobile and Pensacola by the Spanish in support of the revolutionary cause, and see how Florida’s place in the nation’s founding story comes into focus, map by map.
The History Center, at 801 Water Street in Tampa and open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., is a joyful place to pair this exhibition with its three floors of Florida history. Bring curious kids, map lovers and visiting family, and discover the colony that history almost forgot.
Photo: Tampa Bay History Center
