This hefty work offers a very detailed history of the Mobile area which was under Spanish, French, British, and American domination at various times. The author examines: Exploration (1519-1670), the French Capital (1670, 1699-1722), The Department of Mobile (1722-1763), British West Florida (1763-1780), Spanish West Florida (1780-1813), and Americanization (1813-1821). The lengthy appendix reproduces numerous documents and narratives, and has a list of marriages, 1813-1821. End notes provide extensive supplemental material and documentation. The text is attractively illustrated with numerous maps and other illustrations. This is a revised and enlarged edition of a work which first appeared in 1897. The author was a Fellow at Princeton and an attorney in Mobile. He wrote several books on the history of the South. Larned calls his style "clear, concise, and vigorous."