Angola was a prosperous community of up to 750

maroons Maroons are descendants of Africans in the Americas who escaped from slavery and formed their own settlements. They often mixed with indigenous peoples, eventually evolving into separate creole cultures such as the Garifuna and the Mascogos. ...

(escaped slaves) that existed in Florida from 1812 until Florida became a U.S. territory in 1821, at which point it was destroyed. The location was along the Manatee River in Bradenton, Florida, near Manatee Mineral Springs Park. The exact location is expansive, ranging from where the Braden River meets the Manatee River down to

Sarasota Bay Sarasota Bay is a lagoon located off the central west coast of Florida in the United States. Though no significant single stream of freshwater enters the bay, with a drainage basin limited to 150 square miles in Manatee and Sarasota Counties, it ...

; archaeological research focuses on the Manatee Mineral Spring—a source of fresh water and later the location of the Village of Manatee two decades after the destruction of the maroon community. Archaeological evidence has been found and the archaeology report by Uzi Baram is on file with the Florida Division of Historical Resources of the

Florida Department of State The Secretary of State of Florida is an executive officer of the state government of the U.S. state of Florida, established since the original 1838 state constitution. Like the corresponding officials in other states, the original charge of th ...

Background

Spanish Florida was a haven for escaped slaves and for Native Americans deprived of their traditional lands during colonial times and in the first decades of U.S. independence. The

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. ...

ran south during this period. Three autonomous black communities developed in Spanish Florida, though not simultaneously.

Fort Mose Fort Mose Historic State Park (originally known as Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose, and later Fort Mose; alternatively, Fort Moosa or Fort Mossa), is a former Spanish fort in St. Augustine, Florida. In 1738, the governor of Spanish Florida, M ...

was the first and smallest autonomous black community but it was abandoned in 1763 after the Spanish cessation of Florida in the aftermath of the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (175 ...

. Fort Mose was heavily influenced by neighboring St. Augustine. The second community was at Prospect Bluff on the Apalachicola River, but it was destroyed by forces under the command of General

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...

in 1816. Angola, farthest from the border of Georgia, was the last of the black settlements to survive. According to historian Canter Brown, Jr., "Most maroon settlements were tiny because people needed to escape detection. Angola's 600 to 750 people was an incredible size back then, and shows that these were capable people." He described it as "one of the most significant historical sites in Florida and perhaps the U.S." None of these were settled as a group, as white colonies were; refugees gradually accumulated over many years until a community of several hundred existed. Some refugees from the

Negro Fort Negro Fort (African Fort) was a short-lived fortification built by the British in 1814, during the War of 1812, in a remote part of what was at the time Spanish Florida. It was intended to support a never-realized British attack on the U.S. via ...

calamity came to Angola.

Destruction

When Andrew Jackson became Florida's de facto territorial governor in 1821, he "saw Angola's destruction as a first step in plans to rid the peninsula of runaways. Denied official authority, he apparently dispatched Indian allies to do the work for him." "Acting in direct defiance of Secretary of War John C. Calhoun, Jackson's first order of business was to send his Creek allies on a search and destroy mission against Angola", which was "burned to the ground". The result of the raid was "terror" all over Florida and all the blacks who could left for the

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the ar ...

. Those trying to reach The Bahamas would go to Cape Florida. They would be denied refugee in The Bahamas or assistance in general by British officials there Bahamas but did end up establishing a settlement on

Andros Island Andros Island is an archipelago within the Bahamas, the largest of the Bahamian Islands. Politically considered a single island, Andros in total has an area greater than all the other 700 Bahamian islands combined. The land area of Andros consis ...

, which was lightly populated at the time, named Red Bays in 1821. A small number joined the Red Sticks Indians and formed a community called Minatti at the headwaters of the Peace River.

Commemoration

In July 2018, the first Back to Angola Festival was held at the Manatee Mineral Springs Park. Descendants of those who had escaped to the Bahamas attended.

References

External links

Tragedy and Survival: Virtual Landscapes of 19th Century Maroon Landscapes
{{coord missing, Florida Pre-statehood history of Florida African-American history of Florida Angolan-American history Manatee County, Florida Bradenton, Florida Black Seminoles Spanish Florida Seminole Wars Populated places on the Underground Railroad Populated places disestablished in 1821 Maroon settlements Muscogee Ghost towns in Florida Seminole tribe African-American historic places 1821 disestablishments in Florida Territory Populated places established in 1812 Negro Fort Fugitive American slaves Andrew Jackson History of racism in Florida Angolan expatriates in the United States

Background

Destruction

Commemoration

See also

References

Further reading

External links