Two days later.
Hall of Peace, Versailles Palace.
Joseph put away Carlos IV's letter and looked at Count Floridablanca in puzzlement. "You mean the Americans were serious about that 'deadline'?"
The Chief Minister of Spain nodded. "It appears so, Your Highness. They began recruiting large numbers of vagrants and bankrupt men in Georgia a year ago, and they have frequently crossed into Florida to plunder.
"After the Notice on the Repatriation of Runaway Slaves, Wilkinson gathered nearly two thousand troops in Charleston.
"Morales, Governor of East Florida, believes the Americans may attack Frederick at any moment."
Frederick was a town in eastern Florida directly bordering Georgia, and the only shield north of St. Augustine, the capital of the East Florida Governor's district. Joseph shook his head slightly. "The Americans would not risk declaring war on Madrid merely for two thousand runaway slaves."
The laws of the Florida Colony stipulated that any black slave not purchased by a Spaniard would be regarded as a free person upon entering Florida. Thus, every year, large numbers of American black slaves risked their lives to flee here. Florida was also known as the "Runaway Slave Paradise."
The colonial government had registered nearly two thousand runaway slaves, though the real number might have been twice that.
But even four thousand black slaves were not worth the United States starting a war in Florida over.
Count Floridablanca said gravely, "The colonial government judges that, after being blocked in its westward expansion, the United States has decided to expand southward." He bowed to Joseph. "His Majesty the King hopes that, when Wilkinson makes his move, you will send troops from the Louisiana Colony to pin down the Americans from the west.
"Of course, we will resolve Florida's troubles completely, but as you know, gathering troops from Mexico