"The mildest form ever known upon earth?": reconsidering racial slavery in Seminole society, 1800-1835

The extent of the multi-ethnic integration of the Seminoles remains a cause of debate in both Florida history and the wider field of Indigenous studies. This article argues against the notion that the Black experience among the Seminoles prior to the Second Seminole War (1835-1842) was homogenous an...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inAmerican nineteenth century history Vol. 21; no. 2; pp. 109 - 128
Main Author Mair, Edward
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Abingdon Routledge 03.05.2020
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects
Black Seminoles
coalescence
Native American slavery
Seminole Indians
Slavery
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Summary:The extent of the multi-ethnic integration of the Seminoles remains a cause of debate in both Florida history and the wider field of Indigenous studies. This article argues against the notion that the Black experience among the Seminoles prior to the Second Seminole War (1835-1842) was homogenous and considers the role of those who experienced the restrictions of enslavement: the Estelusti. Through a synthesis of published observations and archival evidence on the Seminoles, this paper highlights that the varying treatment of the Estelusti is a means of understanding the barriers to coalescence in the Native South.
ISSN:1466-4658
1743-7903
DOI:10.1080/14664658.2020.1788266