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families. Many enslaved individuals escaped from English colonies to St. Augustine, where the Spanish crown granted them liberty.
This dynamic gained further relevance after 1670, following the founding of Charleston and construction of St. Augustine’ s first masonry fort. That fort— Castillo de San Marcos— was built with labor from enslaved Africans and Native Americans. Construction began in 1672 and was completed in 1695, making 2025 the 330th anniversary of St. Augustine’ s most iconic structure.
To strengthen defenses, the Spanish government required militias across its colonies. Landers noted that these forces included both free and enslaved Africans.“ Blacks also served as defense forces on plantations and ranches, as coastal sentinels, and as sailors … In Florida, they served as linguists” with Indigenous communities. During the Siege of 1702, 57 of the 300 defenders of the Castillo were Black.
As British colonization crept southward, tensions rose. In 1733, British Lieutenant General James Oglethorpe
founded Georgia and the city of Savannah— challenging Spanish control of Florida. That same year, the Spanish crown officially decreed that enslaved people fleeing the British colonies who converted to Catholicism would be granted freedom in Florida.
In 1738, Spain established Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose or Fort Mose( moh-say), north of St. Augustine. The site, long known as a refuge, became the first legally sanctioned free Black town in what is now the United States.
As the nation prepares to mark its 250th anniversary, historians like Landers, Francis and Ballve remind us that a full and honest account of America’ s founding must include the contributions of Black men, women and children like Estebana.
Dr. Leslee Keys is a historic preservation professional, urban planner, historian, author, and retired faculty member of Flagler College in St. Augustine. She chairs the St. Johns County Cultural Resources Review Board and since 2023 has assisted with subject matter for the Florida Black History Museum.
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SEPTEMBER 2025 | 7 |