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St. Augustine in St. Johns County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)
 

British Enslavement

Fort Mose Historic State Park

 
 
British Enslavement Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, December 10, 2014
1. British Enslavement Marker
Inscription. Once in English Carolina, the enslaved Africans were forced into labor and had no legal standing and few rights.

Africans labored on indigo plantations, and as lumbermen and cattlemen. They produced materials for shipbuilding and cleared land. Slaves in Carolina had no recourse to legal and religious protections that governed the treatment of slaves in Spanish Florida. They were not allowed to marry and could not hold property.

By the early 1700s, the number of slaves in the Carolinas far exceeded that of their English overseers. They lived in an unstable frontier society with constant Indian raids and growing conflict between the Spanish and English. Despite constant vigilance, torture, and public executions, many people from Congo and Angola fled enslavement for the promise of freedom in Spanish Florida. Their kinsmen remained behind, eventually developing the Gulla and Geechee cultures in Anglo areas.

The Stono Rebellion
The most significant colonial slave rebellion took place in 1739 in Stono, South Carolina.
• On September 9, a group of “Angolan” (more likely Congo) slaves revolted.
• They killed over 20 English colonists, sacked and burned homes, then headed toward St. Augustine.
• During a “drunken dance” (more likely a Congo war practice),
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Carolina's governor, William Bull, and his militia attacked.
• Survivors fought for another week, moving toward St. Augustine, until a larger English militia caught and killed most of them.
• Some rebels escaped. If any made it to St. Augustine, they would have been sheltered at Mose.
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African AmericansColonial EraForts and CastlesWaterways & Vessels. A significant historical date for this entry is September 9, 1739.
 
Location. 29° 55.718′ N, 81° 19.516′ W. Marker is in St. Augustine, Florida, in St. Johns County. Marker is on Fort Mose Trail, 0.2 miles east of North Ponce De Leon Boulevard (U.S. 1), on the right when traveling north. Marker is within Fort Mose Historic State Park, beside the sidewalk leading from the parking lot to the visitor center. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 15 Fort Mose Trail, Saint Augustine FL 32084, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Escape & Flight (a few steps from this marker); Middle Passage (a few steps from this marker); African Origins (a few steps from this marker); Fort Mose I (a few steps from this marker); El Pueblo de Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose (within shouting distance of this marker); Bloody Mose (within
Marker detail: Rice became an important crop in coastal lowlands of English Carolina image. Click for full size.
From Deagan & MacMahon, 1995
2. Marker detail: Rice became an important crop in coastal lowlands of English Carolina
African slaves, who were rice farmers in their homeland, introduced rice cultivation methods including mortars for crushing and baskets for fanning the rice.
shouting distance of this marker); Fort Mose II (within shouting distance of this marker); Evacuation (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in St. Augustine.
 
More about this marker. Marker is a large, rectangular composite plaque, mounted horizontally on waist-high posts.
 
Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker. Fort Mose Historic State Park
 
Also see . . .
1. Bance Island Opens for slave trade, 11/14/1670. Bance Island (Sierra Leone) was a major launching point of the Middle Passage to America, first settled by English slave traders about 1670. Bance Island was operated by two London-based companies: Grant, Oswald & Company and John & Alexander Anderson, and at that period it was a highly profitable enterprise. During the second half of the 18th century, the companies sent thousands of African captives from Bance Island to British- and French-controlled islands in the West Indies and to Britain's North American colonies. (Submitted on December 1, 2018, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.) 

2. The Stono Rebellion, 9/9/1739. The Stono Rebellion was
Marker detail: Estimated Population of South Carolina by Race image. Click for full size.
3. Marker detail: Estimated Population of South Carolina by Race
the largest rebellion mounted by slaves against slave owners in colonial America. On Sept. 9, 1739, about 20 slaves gathered at a spot near the Stono River. Stopping first at a firearms shop, they killed the owner and supplied themselves with guns. Now well-armed, the group then marched down a main road in St. Paul's Parish, located nearly 20 miles from Charleston. The rebelling slaves were headed for Florida. Great Britain and Spain were at war, and Spain, hoping to cause problems for Britain, promised freedom and land to any British colonial slaves who made their way to Florida. (Submitted on December 1, 2018, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.) 
 
Marker detail: Metal face masks are examples some of the extreme forms of torture Slaves endured image. Click for full size.
From Branagan, 1805
4. Marker detail: Metal face masks are examples some of the extreme forms of torture Slaves endured
Marker detail: Advertisement for the sale of captured Africans image. Click for full size.
Courtesy of the Library of Congress
5. Marker detail: Advertisement for the sale of captured Africans
To be sold on board the ship Bance Island, on Tuesday the 6th of May next, at Ashley Ferry, a choice cargo of about 250 fine healthy negroes just arrived from the Windward & Rice Coast. The utmost care has already been taken, and shall be continued, to keep them free from the least danger of being infected with the smallpox, no boat having been on board, and all other communication with people from Charles-Town prevented.
Austin, Laurens, & Appleby.
N.B. Full one-half of the above Negroes have had the smallpox in their own country.
British Enslavement Marker (<i>wide view</i>) image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, December 10, 2014
6. British Enslavement Marker (wide view)
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on April 13, 2019. It was originally submitted on December 1, 2018, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 405 times since then and 18 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on December 1, 2018, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.

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Mar. 29, 2024