Florida crackers were

colonial Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 a ...

-era British and

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

pioneer settlers in what is now the U.S. state of Florida; the term is also applied to their descendants, to the present day, and their subculture among white Southerners. The first crackers arrived in 1763 after Spain traded Florida to Great Britain following the latter's victory over France in the Seven Years' War, though much of traditional Florida cracker folk culture dates to the 19th century.

Historical usage

The term ''cracker'' was in use during the Elizabethan era to describe braggarts and blowhards. The original root of this is the Middle English word , meaning 'entertaining conversation' (which survives as a verb, as in "to crack a joke"); the noun in the Gaelicized spelling '' craic'' also retains currency in Ireland and to some extent in Scotland and Northern England, in a sense of 'fun' or 'entertainment' especially in a group setting. ''Cracker'' is documented in William Shakespeare's ''

King John King John may refer to: Rulers * John, King of England (1166–1216) * John I of Jerusalem (c. 1170–1237) * John Balliol, King of Scotland (c. 1249–1314) * John I of France (15–20 November 1316) * John II of France (1319–1364) * John I o ...

'', Act II, Scene I (1595): "What cracker is this same that deafs our ears / With this abundance of superfluous breath?" By the 1760s, the ruling classes, both in Britain and in the

American colonies The Thirteen Colonies, also known as the Thirteen British Colonies, the Thirteen American Colonies, or later as the United Colonies, were a group of British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America. Founded in the 17th and 18th centur ...

, applied the term ''cracker'' to Scots-Irish,

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

, and English American settlers of the remote southern back country, as noted in a letter to the

Earl of Dartmouth Earl of Dartmouth is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1711 for William Legge, 2nd Baron Dartmouth. History The Legge family descended from Edward Legge, Vice-President of Munster. His eldest son William Legge was a ...

: "I should explain to your Lordship what is meant by Crackers; a name they have got from being great boasters; they are a lawless set of rascalls on the frontiers of Virginia, Maryland, the Carolinas, and Georgia, who often change their places of abode." The word was later associated with the cowboys of Georgia and Florida, many of them descendants of those early colonizers who had migrated south. A

folk etymology Folk etymology (also known as popular etymology, analogical reformation, reanalysis, morphological reanalysis or etymological reinterpretation) is a change in a word or phrase resulting from the replacement of an unfamiliar form by a more famili ...

suggests that the name ''cracker'' instead derives from the cracking of cattle-drovers' whips.

Cracker cowmen

In Florida, those who own or work cattle traditionally have been called ''cowmen''. In the late 1800s, they were often called ''cow hunters'' or ''cowhunters'', a reference to seeking out cattle scattered over the wooded rangelands during roundups. At times, the terms ''cowman'' and ''cracker'' have been used interchangeably because of similarities in their folk culture. Today, the western term ''cowboy'' is often used for those who work cattle. The Florida "cowhunter" or "cracker cowboy" of the 19th and early 20th centuries was distinct from the Spanish and the Western

cowboy A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the '' vaquer ...

. Florida cowboys did not use lassos to herd or capture cattle. Their primary tools were dogs and cow whips. Florida cattle and

horses The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million yea ...

were smaller than the western breeds. The Florida Cracker cattle, also known as the "native" or "scrub" cow, averaged about and had large horns and large feet.

Modern usage

Among some Floridians, the term is used as a proud or

jocular A joke is a display of humour in which words are used within a specific and well-defined narrative structure to make people laugh and is usually not meant to be interpreted literally. It usually takes the form of a story, often with dialogue, ...

self-description. Since the huge influx of new residents into Florida in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, from the northern parts of the United States and from Mexico and Latin America, the term ''Florida cracker'' is used informally by some Floridians to indicate that their families have lived in the state for many generations. It is considered a source of pride to be descended from "frontier people who did not just live but flourished in a time before air conditioning, mosquito repellent, and screens" according to Florida history writer Dana Ste. Claire.

Cracker Storytelling Festival

Since the late 20th century, the Cracker Storytelling Festival has been held annually in the fall at Homeland Heritage Park in Homeland, Florida. The year 2013 marked the 25th anniversary of the festival. The Cracker Storytelling Festival includes many storytellers from around Florida who come to share their stories with visitors. The majority of visitors who attend this event are students, because storytelling is part of the Florida educational curriculum. The festival also incorporates local crafts and artwork, food vendors, a whip-cracking contest, and living-history re-enactment of 19th-century homestead life.

Notable Florida crackers

Bone Mizell Morgan Bonaparte "Bone" Mizell (1863–1921) was a Florida, Floridian cattle herder, and one of the early Florida frontiersmen known as Florida crackers. Mizell was known for his mischievous antics, and was regarded as a fun-loving and hard-drink ...

(1863–1921) – the best known of the original Florida cracker cowboys, made famous as the subject of a Frederic Remington painting *

Ben Hill Griffin Jr. Ben Hill Griffin Jr. (October 20, 1910 – March 1, 1990) was a prominent American businessman, citrus producer, politician, and philanthropist who was a native and resident of Florida. He was an alumnus of the University of Florida, a former le ...

(1910–1990) – "Cracker millionaire from Frostproof, Florida" *

Al Burt Alvin Victor Burt (September 11, 1927 – November 29, 2008) an author and longtime journalist at ''The Miami Herald'' in Florida, was born Sept. 11, 1927, in Oglethorpe County, Georgia and grew up at the family home in Jacksonville, Florida. He ...

(1927–2008) – journalist at '' The Miami Herald'', and chronicler of contemporary Florida cracker subculture.

References

External links

''Cracker Cowboys''
documentary film by Victor Milt
''Florida Crackers: The Cattlemen and Cowboys of Florida''
(2011), documentary film by John Michie
Butch Harrison, Florida cracker storyteller
!--Move this to eventual Cracker Storytelling Festival article.--> {{DEFAULTSORT:Florida Cracker English-American history Florida cracker culture People from Florida American regional nicknames American cattlemen Cowboys