Fort Mose Historic State Park

Fort Mose Historic State Park (original name: Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose ) is a National Historic Landmark of the United States on the edge of St. Augustine, Florida. The park is also a State Park.

History

Fort Mose, was told by its full name Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose, was the first official African-American settlement on the territory of the present-day United States. It originated in the days when Florida was a Spanish colony. The promise of the Spaniards, slaves to grant freedom if they professed the Catholic faith, meant that fled from the neighboring British colonies, primarily from South Carolina and Georgia, thousands of slaves to Florida. As a particularly large number of them on the territory of today's State Park took refuge, was the governor of the colony, Manuel Montiano, 1738 to build a fortified town here was the military leader of African descent Francisco Menendez and the Spanish military as an important bastion against the latent threat from the neighboring British colonies served. When Spain ceded to the United Kingdom after the Seven Years' War, Florida in exchange for Havana, the inhabitants fled to Cuba. Because of its importance as a refuge for escaped slaves Fort Mose is also considered a kind of precursor of the Underground Railroad.

The State Park

The site was declared on 12 October 1994 on the National Historic Landmark. The fort is not obtained. In a visitor center ( Visitor Center ) but you can learn about the history of the fort.