5 STAR U-G-A
Legend
I know it's late in the game, but it's still February and I figured to go for the buzzer beater and post this now. Using the search function, I came across other BHM threads that were specifically tied to a topic (often sports related), so it seemed appropriate to start a general discussion thread on this subject.
Each February I make an effort to either read a book or travel somewhere that has some significance to Black History.
This year, I went to Fort Mose (pronounced "Moh-Say") in St. Augustine, Florida.
Like many historical landmarks, there's a lot to unpack here, and I'm no historian. So to not get too bogged down into details, I'm going to try to focus on addressing 3 basic questions in this post:
1) What is Fort Mose?
2) Why is it Historically Significant?
3) What is it like now?
In this post, there are certain maps/charts that are pictures from the exhibits inside and around the visitor center.
1) What is Fort Mose?
Fort Mose was the first legally sanctioned Free Black Town in what is considered the present day United States. It was inhabited from 1738-1740 and 1752-1763 in St. Augustine back when Florida was still a Spanish Colony.
It was located about 3 miles north of downtown St. Augustine, specifically the popular Castillo de San Marcos attraction.
2) Why is it Historically Significant?
Fort Mose served as a destination for runaway slaves from British Carolina, in a precursor of what is now referred to as the "Underground Railroad". The route from Fort Moses was likely first used in 1670 when the Carolina colony was established until about the American Revolutionary war.
Unlike what is commonly considered parts of the routes of the Underground Railroad today (which went from Southern slave states north to Canada), this route went SOUTH from the Carolinas to Spanish Florida.
Spanish colonies also had slavery, however it was slightly less shitty than the British version of it as Slaves were paid for their labor and had certain freedoms that they lacked in the English colonies. From what I gathered, it seemed similar to indentured servitude, though I would have to look more deeply into that to get the details straight.
However, in 1693, King Charles II of Spain issued a royal proclamation granting freedom to slaves who escaped from Carolina to Florida and converted to Catholicism. And on March 15, 1738 Florida governor Manuel de Montiano granted freedom to runaways from Carolina living in St. Augustine.
There were several significant skirmishes/battles there as well, events which I am still learning about and will attempt to discuss in more detail at another time when I have a better comprehension of the details around them. It appears the most significant battle occurred in 1740, when the English sent Royal Navy ships from Jamaica to attack St. Augustine.
At it's peak there were roughly over 100 runaways from the Carolinas living in Fort Mose.
In 1763, England gained control of Florida form the Spaniards, and many Spanish Colonists (including Fort Mose residents) fled to Cuba, mostly to the Mantanzas province.
3) What is it like now?
Today, the area where Fort Mose once was located in now a State Park.
This walkway leads to a marsh where a variety of birds (including Bald Eagles) can be spotted and is a nice place for a nature walk even if someone is not interested in the history of the place.
Anyway, that was my "book report" of my visit to Fort Mose. I'll post more stuff (i.e. videos, etc) that are more comprehensive and informative, and likely more historically accurate than whatever I just typed above. But I figured that if I could relay some stuff I was able to learn and retain from this visit, then just about any idiot who opens this thread could grasp some information from what I attempted to convey (rather than copying and pasting a shit ton of extremely dense and overly-detailed historical dissertations and texts).
Regardless, just was trying to break the ice on the subject of BHM and start a thread for facts/info/videos about it for those interested in the subject.
Each February I make an effort to either read a book or travel somewhere that has some significance to Black History.
This year, I went to Fort Mose (pronounced "Moh-Say") in St. Augustine, Florida.
Like many historical landmarks, there's a lot to unpack here, and I'm no historian. So to not get too bogged down into details, I'm going to try to focus on addressing 3 basic questions in this post:
1) What is Fort Mose?
2) Why is it Historically Significant?
3) What is it like now?
In this post, there are certain maps/charts that are pictures from the exhibits inside and around the visitor center.
1) What is Fort Mose?
Fort Mose was the first legally sanctioned Free Black Town in what is considered the present day United States. It was inhabited from 1738-1740 and 1752-1763 in St. Augustine back when Florida was still a Spanish Colony.
It was located about 3 miles north of downtown St. Augustine, specifically the popular Castillo de San Marcos attraction.
2) Why is it Historically Significant?
Fort Mose served as a destination for runaway slaves from British Carolina, in a precursor of what is now referred to as the "Underground Railroad". The route from Fort Moses was likely first used in 1670 when the Carolina colony was established until about the American Revolutionary war.
Unlike what is commonly considered parts of the routes of the Underground Railroad today (which went from Southern slave states north to Canada), this route went SOUTH from the Carolinas to Spanish Florida.
Spanish colonies also had slavery, however it was slightly less shitty than the British version of it as Slaves were paid for their labor and had certain freedoms that they lacked in the English colonies. From what I gathered, it seemed similar to indentured servitude, though I would have to look more deeply into that to get the details straight.
However, in 1693, King Charles II of Spain issued a royal proclamation granting freedom to slaves who escaped from Carolina to Florida and converted to Catholicism. And on March 15, 1738 Florida governor Manuel de Montiano granted freedom to runaways from Carolina living in St. Augustine.
There were several significant skirmishes/battles there as well, events which I am still learning about and will attempt to discuss in more detail at another time when I have a better comprehension of the details around them. It appears the most significant battle occurred in 1740, when the English sent Royal Navy ships from Jamaica to attack St. Augustine.
At it's peak there were roughly over 100 runaways from the Carolinas living in Fort Mose.
In 1763, England gained control of Florida form the Spaniards, and many Spanish Colonists (including Fort Mose residents) fled to Cuba, mostly to the Mantanzas province.
3) What is it like now?
Today, the area where Fort Mose once was located in now a State Park.
This walkway leads to a marsh where a variety of birds (including Bald Eagles) can be spotted and is a nice place for a nature walk even if someone is not interested in the history of the place.
Anyway, that was my "book report" of my visit to Fort Mose. I'll post more stuff (i.e. videos, etc) that are more comprehensive and informative, and likely more historically accurate than whatever I just typed above. But I figured that if I could relay some stuff I was able to learn and retain from this visit, then just about any idiot who opens this thread could grasp some information from what I attempted to convey (rather than copying and pasting a shit ton of extremely dense and overly-detailed historical dissertations and texts).
Regardless, just was trying to break the ice on the subject of BHM and start a thread for facts/info/videos about it for those interested in the subject.
