Black Society in Spanish FloridaThe first extensive study of the African American community under colonial Spanish rule, Black Society in Spanish Florida provides a vital counterweight to the better-known dynamics of the Anglo slave South. Jane Landers draws on a wealth of untapped primary sources, opening a new vista on the black experience in America and enriching our understanding of the powerful links between race relations and cultural custom. Blacks under Spanish rule in Florida lived not in cotton rows or tobacco patches but in a more complex and international world that linked the Caribbean, Africa, Europe, and a powerful and diverse Indian hinterland. Here the Spanish Crown afforded sanctuary to runaway slaves, making the territory a prime destination for blacks fleeing Anglo plantations, while Castilian law (grounded in Roman law) provided many avenues out of slavery, which it deemed an unnatural condition. European-African unions were common and accepted in Florida, with families of African descent developing important community connections through marriage, concubinage, and godparent choices. Assisted by the corporate nature of Spanish society, Spain's medieval tradition of integration and assimilation, and the almost constant threat to Spanish sovereignty in Florida, multiple generations of Africans leveraged linguistic, military, diplomatic, and artisanal skills into citizenship and property rights. In this remote Spanish outpost, where they could become homesteaders, property owners, and entrepreneurs, blacks enjoyed more legal and social protection than they would again until almost two hundred years of Anglo history had passed. |
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Contents
Transitions | 61 |
Black Entrepreneurs and PropertyHolders | 84 |
Black Religious Life | 107 |
The Lives of Black Women | 136 |
Slaves and the Slave Trade | 157 |
Crime and Punishment | 183 |
Black Military Service | 202 |
Racial Geopolitics and the Demise | 229 |
Afterword | 249 |
Appendixes | 255 |
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Common terms and phrases
Accounts African American Antonio asked Augustine Baptisms became Biassou black militia British Captain Catholic church cited claimed Clarke Colonial court Crown Cuba daughter described East Florida Edimboro English escaped Father Fish Jesse Fish Florida force Francisco free black freedom frontier Georgia Governor grant Havana History hundred important included Indian Island Jesse Fish Jesse John Johns River Jorge José Joseph Juan Juana July labor land later listed lived Manuel María marriage married microfilm reel microfilm reel 284 military militia Mose mulatto named Negro officials once ordered owner Pedro persons pesos Petition plantation population Proceedings province received Records religious reported returned River royal Sánchez Seminole served slavery slaves Society South Spain Spaniards Spanish Spanish Florida Thomas town trade troops United wife Wiggins women