PENSACOLA

city, seat (1821) of Escambia county, extreme northwestern Florida, U.S., on Pensacola Bay. A Spanish settlement was made on the bay coast in 1559 but was abandoned in 1661. The Spaniards formally took possession in 1698 and built Fort San Carlos, but this was ravaged during the French-Spanish colonial fighting of 1719-20. After the British gained control following the Seven Years' War, Pensacola (a name derived from Pansfalaya, a local Indian tribe) became the capital of West Florida. During the American Revolution it became a haven for Tories but in 1781 was taken by a Spanish force from New Orleans. In 1818 General Andrew Jackson captured the city, accusing the Spanish of encouraging Indian raids against the United States. After Florida was ceded to the United States in 1821, Pensacola acquired a federal navy yard. The city was seized by Confederates at the outbreak of the American Civil War, but Fort Pickens on Santa Rosa Island offshore remained in Federal hands; in 1862 the Confederates evacuated the city. Lumbering and commercial fishing increased after the war, and industry developed. The navy yard became a naval air station in 1913, and the large aviation training school helped the city's economy. Pensacola's landlocked deepwater port, although important, suffers because of its proximity to Mobile, Ala. (61 miles northwest). Tourism and chemical and wood industries are significant economic factors. Pensacola Junior College opened there in 1948, and the University of West Florida opened in 1967. The Fiesta of Five Flags, reflecting the city's checkered history, is an annual event in June. Gulf Islands National Seashore is to the south. Inc. 1822. Pop. (1990) city, 58,165; Pensacola MSA, 344,406.