Florida has always been different. Now known as America’s retirement home, theme park destination, and the source of
crazy news headlines,
the history of the state is also strange and different. After Spanish
conquistadors took charge, it was traded back and forth between Spain
and Britain, and served as a refuge for those who didn’t want anything
to do with the colonies that became the United States. That included
those escaping from slavery.
4. The First Settlement of Ex-Slaves
In
the late 17th century, the Spanish government began offering official
asylum to all slaves who managed to escape the British colonies and get
to Florida, provided they agreed to convert to Catholicism and serve in
the Spanish military. The newly free (or free-er) people settled in a
town called Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mosé, a.k.a. Fort Mose. The
fort was home to hundreds, and is now considered a precursor to the
Underground Railroad.
8. Abolitionist American Indians
After
Fort Mose closed, the Seminole and Creek tribes picked up the slack,
welcoming runaway slaves into their communities. When officials ordered
their return, Seminoles reportedly responded that they “had merely given
hungry people food, and invited the slaveholders to catch the runaways
themselves.” Partially because of this, the American colonies began
warring with Floridian Indians in the 1810s, and Secretary of State John
Quincy Adams declared the whole territory “a derelict, open to the
occupancy of every enemy, civilized or savage, of the United States and
serving no other earthly purpose, than as a post of annoyance to them.”
He convinced Spain to give up Florida to the United States so that they
could tame it; on July 17th, 1821, the reins were officially passed.
Florida
was also a refuge for “lawless rascals,” Americans who didn’t care for
that whole revolution business, and horses imported from Europe. Atlas
Obscura has
a list of highlights from the history of Florida that you probably didn’t know if you didn’t grow up there.
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