In 1763, to settle the Seven Years' War, Spain gave Florida to the British Empire in return for the British giving back Cuba. Britain divided Florida into East Florida and West Florida, but gave it back to Spain in 1783 to settle the American Revolutionary War. Escaped slaves and other illegal immigrants settled there. Revolts against Spanish authority, military invasions and other problems led Spain to give the Floridas to the United States. West Florida is now mostly in the states of Mississippi and Alabama; East Florida with some of West Florida became the modern state of Florida. 