In preparation for the Floridian bicentennial of the
Constitution in October, 2012, FIU Law Professor M.C. Mirow has
published Florida’s First Constitution: The Constitution of
Cádiz (Carolina Academic Press, 2012). Along with an
introductory essay describing the importance of the Constitution
in Florida and the Spanish Empire, Mirow provides a fresh and
authoritative translation of the text into English along with
original version in Spanish. Over thirty years before Florida
became a state of the United States, the Spanish provinces of
East and West Florida were subject to a remarkable document
known as the Constitution of Cádiz, or the Spanish Constitution
of 1812 which celebrates its bicentennial this year. This
Constitution ruled cities such as St. Augustine, Pensacola, and
Fernandina (now Fernandina Beach) from 1812 to 1815 and from
1820 until 1821 when Florida was turned over to the United
States under the Adams-Onís Treaty. The Constitution provided
for a limited monarchy in the Spanish crown and Roman