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 au ...

-era

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

and American pioneer settlers in what is now the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

; the term is also applied to their descendants, to the present day, and their subculture among

white Southerners White Southerners, from the Southern United States, are considered an ethnic group by some historians, sociologists and journalists, although this categorization has proven controversial, and other academics have argued that Southern identity do ...

. The first crackers arrived in 1763 after

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

traded Florida to Great Britain following the latter's victory over France in 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 ...

, 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 The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The symbol of Britannia (a female personific ...

to describe braggarts and blowhards. The original root of this is the

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English ...

word , meaning 'entertaining conversation' (which survives as a verb, as in "to crack a joke"); the noun in the

Gaelicized Gaelicisation, or Gaelicization, is the act or process of making something Gaelic, or gaining characteristics of the ''Gaels'', a sub-branch of celticisation. The Gaels are an ethno-linguistic group, traditionally viewed as having spread from Irel ...

spelling ''

craic ''Craic'' ( ) or ''crack'' is a term for news, gossip, fun, entertainment, and enjoyable conversation, particularly prominent in Ireland. It is often used with the definite article – ''the'' craic – as in the expression "What's the craic ...

'' also retains currency in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

and to some extent in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

and

Northern England Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...

, in a sense of 'fun' or 'entertainment' especially in a group setting. ''Cracker'' is documented in

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's '' King John'', 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, applied the term ''cracker'' to Scots-Irish, Scottish, and

English American English Americans (historically known as Anglo-Americans) are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in England. In the 2020 American Community Survey, 25.21 million self-identified as being of English origin. The term is distin ...

settlers of the remote southern back country, as noted in a letter to the Earl of Dartmouth: "I should explain to your Lordship what is meant by Crackers; a name they have got from being great

boast Boasting or bragging is speaking with excessive pride and self-satisfaction about one's achievements, possessions, or abilities. Boasting occurs when someone feels a sense of satisfaction or when someone feels that whatever occurred proves thei ...

ers; they are a lawless set of rascalls on the frontiers of Virginia, Maryland, the Carolinas, and Georgia, who often change their places of

abode In law, a dwelling (also known as a residence or an abode) is a self-contained unit of accommodation used by one or more households as a home - such as a house, apartment, mobile home, houseboat, vehicle, or other "substantial" structure. The ...

." 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 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 Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

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. Florida cowboys did not use

lasso A lasso ( or ), also called lariat, riata, or reata (all from Castilian, la reata 're-tied rope'), is a loop of rope designed as a restraint to be thrown around a target and tightened when pulled. It is a well-known tool of the Spanish an ...

s to herd or capture cattle. Their primary tools were dogs and cow whips. Florida cattle and horses were smaller than the western breeds. The

Florida Cracker cattle The Florida Cracker or Florida Scrub is an American breed of cattle which originated in Spanish Florida and later in the American state of Florida. It is named for the Florida cracker culture in which it was kept. It is one of the Criollo breed ...

, 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 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 The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and from

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

and

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

, 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 Homeland is an unincorporated community in Polk County, Florida, United States. It has a post office, a general store, and historical park. It is part of the Lakeland– Winter Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Peace Creek (now B ...

. 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 (1863–1921) – the best known of the original Florida cracker cowboys, made famous as the subject of a

Frederic Remington Frederic Sackrider Remington (October 4, 1861 – December 26, 1909) was an American painter, illustrator, sculptor, and writer who specialized in the genre of Western American Art. His works are known for depicting the Western United Stat ...

painting * Ben Hill Griffin Jr. (1910–1990) – "Cracker millionaire from

Frostproof, Florida Frostproof is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. The city is located in southern Polk County on the Lake Wales Ridge. The population was 2,992 at the 2010 census. As of 2018, the population estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau is 3,2 ...

" * Al Burt (1927–2008) – journalist at ''

The Miami Herald The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by the McClatchy Company and headquartered in Doral, Florida, a city in western Miami-Dade County and the Miami metropolitan area, several miles west of Downtown Miami.Cracker (term) Cracker, sometimes white cracker or cracka, is a racial epithet directed towards white people, used especially with regard to poor rural whites in the Southern United States. Although commonly a pejorative, it is also used in a neutral context ...

– about use of the term as a slur *

Cracker Country Cracker Country is a living history museum of rural Florida, which was established in 1978 by Mildred and Doyle Carlton Jr. Cracker Country features thirteen original buildings dating from 1870 to 1912 and is set in 1898. The buildings were moved ...

– a living-history village at the Florida State Fair * Florida cracker (disambiguation) – lists things named after the Florida crackers (architecture, trail, cattle and horse breeds, etc.) *

Florida Western A Florida Western can be used to describe a small number of films and literature set in the 19th century, particularly around the time of the Second Seminole War. Not a significant number of these films have been made, as most Hollywood and other g ...

– a film and novel genre set in 19th-century Florida * Georgia cracker – the related subculture of the US state of Georgia, just to the north of Florida

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