Panton, Leslie, and Company
Panton, Leslie, and Company
Panton, Leslie, and Company, a trading company in the Floridas (1783–1804). Formed by Loyalists William Panton, John Leslie, and others in St. Augustine in 1783, Panton, Leslie, and Company and its successor firm, John Forbes and Company (1804–1847), played a significant role in the history of the Floridas and the Old Southwest. After 1785, Pensacola became the company headquarters. Aided initially by Alexander McGillivray, the Creek chief, these companies eventually secured a virtual monopoly of the Indian trade. Early on, they successfully opposed U.S. westward expansion. When they recognized the inevitable march of manifest destiny, however, they assisted the United States (and themselves) in acquiring huge land grants from the Indians.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
William S. Coker, Historical Sketches of Panton, Leslie and Company (1976); John Forbes' Description of the Spanish Floridas, 1804, edited by William S. Coker, translated by Vicki D. Butt et al. (1979).
William S. Coker and Thomas D. Watson, Indian Traders of the Southeastern Spanish Borderlands: Panton, Leslie, and Company and John Forbes and Company, 1783–1847 (1986).
Research Publications, The Papers of Panton, Leslie and Co.: Guide to the Microfilm Collection (1986).
Additional Bibliography
Morris, Michael P. The Bringing of Wonder: Trade and the Indians of the Southeast, 1700–1783. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1999.
William S. Coker