August 14 marks the day that the Second Seminole War was declared finished in 1842. It was a war fought by a coalition of native peoples and black slaves against the US government for their freedom and sovereignty. The seeds were set when United States had acquired Florida from the Spanish in 1821. Many native peoples had moved to Florida to escape the USA, and when black slaves had fled there, they were given their freedom by the Spanish. These groups became known as Seminoles (runaways).

When the white settlers moved in, they demanded that something be done about having to live next to . At first they were rounded up and forced onto a reservation (in the first Seminole war). After the passing of the Indian Removal Act the US broke their treaty and demanded that the Seminoles vacate the territory for white settlers. They refused to go. They found allies in the plantation slaves and rose up.

The war went on for over 6 years. They burned plantations and they slaughtered their former owners and oppressors. But in the end, the strength of the invaders was just too strong. The US was forcibly relocating prisoners, and numbers were dwindling. The US then started attacking hidden villages and crops in an attempt to starve the remainder out. It worked. When numbers dropped low enough, the US called a truce, offering to let the remaining Seminoles stay on an unofficial Florida reservation. Most took the offer, and the war was unilaterally declared to be over by the US military. Of course the oppressive US regime would again not keep their word, but that’s a story for another day.