Spanish-Fort Mose Program

Spanish Colonial - Fort Mose Educational Program
1565-1763

The Spanish settled St. Augustine on September 8, 1565. It was a military outpost that included three standing fortifications by the 1740’s. They were the Castillo de San Marcos on the east, Fort Matanzas to the south, and Fort Mose to the north. Word of freedom spread to the African-American slaves in the English colony of Carolina. The Spanish had decreed that freedom would be granted to any slave that reached the Spanish colony if they would convert to the Catholic religion. In 1738, Governor Manuel de Montiano established the new town Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose, also known as Fort Mose, the first free black settlement in the Americas. These new soldiers posed a fierce line of defense as they would fight to the death to protect their freedom. Students sample a soldiers life in Spanish Florida, and learn how hard it was to start a new colony.

On Site Activities

Candle dipping
Rope making
Colonial games
Corn grinding
Woodworking
Smashing shells for tabby
Weaving
Fence building

"It was really cool to touch everything."

- Sarah, student from Orlando, FL

Colonial pump drills were used to make holes for wooden pegs in building homes.

Corn was ground up by hand. It was a common dish for the Spanish.

The Spanish used candles to light their homes. These candle dippers were used to produce multiple candles at one time.