The Wandering Disciple

Enter Fort Caroline, home of the French settlement in colonial Florida. When you think of European settlement in Florida, you immediately think of the Spanish. There are Spanish influences throughout the state. But on the banks of the St Johns River near present day Jacksonville, René Goulaine de Laudonnière established a French colony in 1564. Fort Caroline was set up as a safe haven for French Huguenots trying to escape religious persecution from French Catholics. The French colony had a successful relationship with the native Timucuan tribe and they traded regularly. But the French fort was raided and seized by the Spanish in September 1565 and the the Spanish renamed the settlement San Mateo. While the exact location of the fort is not known, the National Park Service has built a replica along the St Johns River in an area believed to be in close proximity to the original settlement. (Photo: December 30, 2020)

  Much is known about horrors of slavery in the southern United States, but did you know that slavery existed in Spanish ruled Florida.  While the labor was still intensive, Spanish slavery had more rights and even a pathway to freedom.  The Spanish Florida had three classes of people;  whites, free people of color and slaves.  Slaves could earn their freedom though tasks on plantations like the Kingsley Plantation near the mouth of the St Johns River.  Here the plantation was partially run by a freed slave Anna Madgigine Jai.  You can learn about life as a Spanish slave and plantation life at the restored Kingsley Plantation on Fort George Island near Jacksonville.  (Photo: December 30, 2020)