• The Spanish colonized Florida in the 1500s

• However, by the 1600s there weren't many Spanish colonists in Florida. The British colonized the land above Spain and their population was increasing. To ensure that the English would not take their land, the Spanish government welcomed escaped slaves and Native Americans to live in Florida as long as they agreed to defend the territory for Spain

Spanish Colonization of Florida

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• After the United States became a country, American settlers settled further into Georgia and Mississippi to grow cotton and other crops. 

• By this time the Spanish no longer invited escaped slaves into Florida, but they didn't stop them either.

• In addition, the Seminole tribe helped escaped slaves settle in Florida.

The United States Grows

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​This is why the map of the Underground Railroad shows an arrow going into Florida. Some escaped slaves from Georgia went south into Florida and hid out with the Seminole tribe

​The Seminole tribe not only helped shelter escaped slaves but also often intermarried with them creating a mixed Native American and African American culture

• The growing number of enslaved people escaping to Florida as well as the slave revolts, deeply concerned Georgia plantation owners

• Even though Spain wasn't encouraging this behavior, they weren't doing much to stop it.

• American plantation owners pushed the American government to do something about this problem

Cause for American concern

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