Slaves No More

Fort Mose was established in 1738 when more than 100 runaway slaves arrived seeking refuge from northern plantations. It became the first free Black settlement of self-emancipated slaves in what is now the United States. Spanish Governor Manuel Montiano of St. Augustine, Florida, refused to return the escapees to the English and granted them freedom after they converted to Spanish Catholicism and pledged loyalty to the Spanish Crown by serving in the St. Augustine militia. In 1740, English General James Oglethorpe's forces attacked St. Augustine, and the Fort Mose militia, commanded by Captain Francisco Menendez, helped thwart the invasion. Fort Mose was destroyed in a bloody battle, and its residents fled to St. Augustine. Twelve years later, in 1752, by order of the Spanish governor, the fort was rebuilt and the village was repopulated by free Blacks.

St. Augustine, Florida · United States