Fort Mose

This book tells the story of Fort Mose, focusing on the Captain of the Black Militia of St. Augustine, Francisco Menendez. Established in 1738 by Colonial Spanish Florida's Governor, Manuel Montiano, Fort Mose gave sanctuary to escaped Africans, challenging enslavement in the English colonies. Approximately 100 Africans lived at Fort Mose. Together they created a frontier community which drew on a range of African backgrounds, blended with Spanish, Native American, and English people and cultural traditions. Fort Mose became the first free African settlement to legally exist in what became the United States. The book is a combination of original and archival art.