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Photo courtesy of Fort Mose Historical Society.
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When Fort Mose was established in 1738 by Spanish Governor Manuel de Montiano it became the first free black settlement in America. Located two miles north of Castillo de San Marcos at St. Augustine, the fort represented a sanctuary offering land and opportunity for African slaves freed from English owners in Carolina and Georgia. The settlement around the fort was called Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose to honor the Spanish king (Gracia Real), the patron saint of Spain (Teresa of Avilés), and the Indians of the area who named the place (Mose). Fort Mose was captured and destroyed during English General James Oglethorpe's attempt to seize St. Augustine in 1740. A second fort was built nearby in 1752; in the intervening years Fort Mose’s occupants lived in St. Augustine. In 1763 they were relocated to Cuba with most colonists when Spain relinquished Florida to the British. The National Historic Landmark fort is gone now, and the site is a state conservation area, not open to the public.
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