Fort Mose

HolliFinFan · Feb 23, 2009

http://www.floridastateparks.org/fortmose/default.cfm

In honor of Black History month and many thanks to the Spanish.

I was reminded of Fort Mose recently when reading the historical fiction novel "Copper Sun" by Sharon Draper, in which an escaped slave (Amari) and indentured servant (Polly) try to find refuge there. If anyone is unaware of the history of Fort Mose, I encourage some cursory research.

cnc66 · Feb 23, 2009

Thanks Lisa, interesting story all around. Almost went there last time I was in St. Augustine just to feel the history there too. Found a nice blurb;

Sidebar 5: Fort Mose, St. Augustine, Florida - Lu Ann De Cunzo

In 1693, King Charles II of Spain issued a royal proclamation granting freedom to all runaway slaves seeking asylum in Florida. Hearing that the Spaniards offered freedom and religious sanctuary to those who would become Catholics, many captives escaped and made their way south to St. Augustine. In 1738, the Spanish colonial government finally established a fortified community, Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose, to house the growing number of fugitives. Fort Mose became the first legally-sanctioned free black town in what is now the United States. Two years later, despite the heroic efforts of the African-American militia at Mose, English forces destroyed the fort in an attack on St. Augustine. Rebuilt in 1752, the new Fort housed mostly African-American soldiers and their families until abandoned for the last time when Florida became an English colony in 1763.

snip

Spanish self-interest coupled with altruism in the selection of a setting for Fort Mose, the northernmost frontier outpost built in the eighteenth century to defend St. Augustine. A small stake, cactus, and earthen affair surrounded by a shallow moat, the original fort enclosed a watchtower, guardhouse, and well. Sited next to a creek for defense, the fort today lies preserved underwater, after sea level rise and wetlands development inundated the site. It was the new, much larger but similarly constructed fort built nearby in 1752 that archaeologists rediscovered with the aid of aerial photographs, old maps, and test excavations.

the bold part is new to me.. they occupied the site for two years before the Brits took it away and burned it. Bet it is rich archeology speaking.
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A mosaic of people with diverse origins in Africa, the Caribbean, Florida, and the Carolinas made Mose their home. Documents tell of intermarriage among Indian, African, and European peoples at Mose, a common practice throughout the Spanish colonies in America. Most people lived with their families, although some resided in all-male households. Soil stains marked the remains of their oval palm-thatch houses. Measuring an average of twelve feet in diameter, they provided living quarters that we would find too cramped to tolerate. Contemporary European observers thought they were poorly built. They called them “huts” to distinguish them from European style houses, and noted that they looked similar to the huts erected by local Indians. Despite Europeans’ disregard, the houses met the needs of people who preferred to live and work outdoors.

I may have some pictures of the Timacuan huts they speak of.
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The Spanish shaped African American culture in another crucial way by requiring that all runaway slaves given refuge at Mose must convert to Catholicism. Rosary beads and hand-made St. Christopher medals symbolized the converts’ new faith, although they never completely abandoned their African spiritual heritage.

The Spanish way, convert and conquer. I hope you read the whole thing.
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HolliFinFan · Feb 23, 2009

Quote:
The Spanish way, convert and conquer. I hope you read the whole thing.

I did. I was aware of the conversion requirement and additional stipulation that they form a "black militia." When the English took over, many inhabitants escaped to Cuba.

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