Thursday, September 13, 2018

Florida #4

In 1538 DeSoto landed in Florida thus beginning the profound influence of the Spanish in Florida culture and architecture.  The relationship in Florida to African Americans is a bit different from the other states we have visited. Interesting how many paintings of mestizos and mulattos there are.  It must have been either quite ubiquitous or fascinating curiosity at the time.  Also interesting how mannered the poses are, heads held to the side in a gesture of what?  Just the style of the artist or some sort of comment?

"Some Spanish married or had unions with Pensacola, Creek or African women, both slave and free, and their descendants created a mixed-race population of mestizos and mulattos. The Spanish encouraged slaves from the southern British colonies to come to Florida as a refuge, promising freedom in exchange for conversion to Catholicism. King Charles II of Spain issued a royal proclamation freeing all slaves who fled to Spanish Florida and accepted conversion and baptism. Most went to the area around St. Augustine, but escaped slaves also reached Pensacola. St. Augustine had mustered an all-black militia unit defending Spain as early as 1683.[25]"...Wikipedia