Black Seminole, also called the Seminole Maroons or Seminole Freedmen, was a group of free blacks and runaway slaves (maroons) who joined the Seminole Indians of Florida from about the 1700s to the 1850s. The Black Seminole were celebrated for their bravery and tenacity during the three Seminole Wars.
The Seminoles Native Americans living in Florida are not one tribe but many. They speak various Muskogean languages and have allied to prevent European settlers from expanding into their homeland. The word they used to describe themselves—Seminole—comes from the word Creek which means "separatist" or "refugee." Since slavery was abolished in 1693 in Spanish Florida, the area became a safe haven for runaway slaves.
Throughout the 18th century, many runaway slaves and free blacks went to Florida and lived in harmony with the Seminoles. Their closeness and a resulting collaboration with the Seminoles led students of the group to refer to them as Black Indians, Black Seminoles, and eventually — especially among scholars — the Seminole Maroons or Seminole Freedmen.
Most of the Black Seminoles lived separately from the Indians in their own villages, although the two groups intermarried to some extent, and some Black Seminoles adopted Indian customs. Both groups wear the same clothes, eat the same food, and live in the same house. Both groups work the land communally and share the crops.
Black Seminole, however, practices a religion that is a blend of African and Christian rituals, to which traditional Seminole Indian dances are added, and their language is English Creole which is similar to Gullah and is sometimes called Afro-Seminole Creole. Their few Creek-speaking leaders were easily accepted into Seminole society, but most remained segregated.
There are several references, beginning in the late 18th century, to Seminole "slaves." However, slavery among the Seminole Indians differed greatly from what was practiced in the slave states north of Florida. It has nothing to do with ownership or free labor. The only real consequence of the Black Seminole status as "slaves" was that they paid the Seminole Indians an annual tribute in the form of a percentage of their crops.
The Black Seminoles were relatively prosperous and content. They hunted wild game, farmed, and amassed significant wealth. When their land or freedom was threatened, many black men joined the Seminole Indians as warriors. Others served as translators, helping Seminole understand not only the language but also the culture of European Americans.
The cooperation lasted only during the Seminole War in the first half of the 19th century. Euro-American settlers wanted the rich lands occupied by the Seminoles, and Southern enslavers were confused by free blacks who were armed and ready to fight and live on the borders of the slave states. Between 1812 and 1858, U.S. troops fought several skirmishes and three wars against the Seminole and maroon communities.
The Black Seminoles were known for their aggressive military prowess during the First Seminole War (1817–18). The conflict began when General Andrew Jackson and United States troops destroying African American, invaded Florida, and Indian towns and villages. Jackson eventually captured the Spanish settlement of Pensacola, and Spain ceded Florida to the United States in 1821.
Around that time, some Black Seminoles chose to leave Florida for Andros Island in the Bahamas, where a few Black Seminoles still remained. Although they no longer identify themselves as such.
In 1830 the federal government enacted the India Abolition Act, which declared the government's intention to move the Seminoles from the southeastern United States to the Indian Territory in what is now Oklahoma. The incident caused a new conflict.
In the Second Seminole War (1835–1842), the Black Seminole took the lead in fomenting resistance. Although several Seminoles groups have signed agreements agreeing to the move, they do not represent the entire Seminoles body. When it was time to leave, they fought back and waged a furious guerrilla war against the U.S. Army. Again, during that conflict, the Black Seminoles proved to be brave leaders and warriors.
Often referred to as the most violent conflict ever fought between the United States and India, the Second Seminole War lasted seven years and cost the U.S. government more than $20 million. By 1845, however, most of the Seminoles and Black Seminoles had resettled in Oklahoma, where they were under the control of the Creek Indians.
Although the Creeks subdued both groups, life was much worse for the Black Seminoles, and many left the reservation for Coahuila, Mexico, in 1849, led by John Horse, also known as Juan Caballo. In Mexico, the Black Seminoles (known there as Mascogos) worked as border guards protecting their adopted country from raids by slave raiders.
The Third Seminole War broke out in Florida in 1855 due to a land dispute between the whites and the few remaining Seminoles there. In 1858, At the end of that war, fewer than 200 Seminoles remained in Florida.
When slavery finally ended in the United States, the Black Seminoles were tempted to leave Mexico. In 1870 the U.S. government offered them money and land to return to the United States and work as army scouts. Many returned and served as scouts, but the government never kept its promise of land. Small communities of Black Seminoles continue to live in Texas, Oklahoma, and Mexico.