My mistake, but I do recall that Florida, under Spanish Rule, was where slaves would run away to from Georgia and given freedom by Spain. Also, a certain set of blacks were guaranteed freedom under under the Adams-Onis Treaty, I know this because of the freemen of color in West Florida (Mississippi) who lived in my area of Mississippi.
David
For those who don't know the Adams-Onis Treaty it gave up the claim of the Texas Territory by the United States from the Louisiana Purchase in 1819 to Spain for the Florida Territory. So the United States owned the Texas Territory (which included New Mexico and Colorado) before The Republic of Mexico even existed (1821).