Also known as Fort Pontchartrain du Detroit, Fort Detroit was established in 1701 by Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac. Situated between the Detroit and the Savoyard Rivers, the fort originally enclosed 200 square feet with a 12-foot-high stockade of logs and towers at each corner. The French built the fort to counter growing British influence in the fur trade, but Cadillac also saw it as an opportunity to establish a permanent French settlement. Following the French feudal system, with himself as landlord, Cadillac gave out land grants consisting of lots within the fort and 75 ribbon farms (long thin riverfront parcels) outside the fortification. He also built a church, St. Anne’s, inside the fort. By 1760 some 2,000 French residents lived at the fort, and at least as many Indians, including the Huron, Miami, Ottawa, and Chippewa, set up villages nearby.
As a consequence of the Seven Years’ War, the French surrendered Fort Detroit to the British in 1760. Unhappy to see the French ousted, and alienated by British administration, local Native Americans united under the leadership of Pontiac against the British. Indians first tried to take the fort by surprise on May 7, 1763, by smuggling weapons under their blankets into a council meeting. British major Henry Gladwin, however, had been forewarned and thwarted the attempt with a strong show of force. Pontiac instead besieged the fort itself. The British withstood the six-month siege with supplies brought from Niagara by ship. Until the end of the Revolutionary War, British forces controlled Fort Detroit, regaining it again from the Americans for a short time during the War of 1812.
Further reading: Fred Anderson, Crucible of War: The Seven Years’ War and the Fate of Empire in British North America, 1754-1766 (New York: Knopf, 2000); Daniel K. Richter, Facing East from Indian Country: A Native History of Early America (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2001).
—Robert C. Gardner
Fort Mose (1738-1763)
Located two miles north of St. AuGUSTiNE, Florida, Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose, or Fort Mose, housed the first free African-American community in the present-day United States. Established and sanctioned by Florida governor Manuel de Montiano in 1738, Fort Mose was a sanctuary for slaves who successfully escaped their bondage in British colonies. After entering Florida, escaped slaves earned their freedom if they converted to Catholicism and promised to defend the Spanish territory. Once accepted into the Spanish colony, these African-American slaves were settled in Fort Mose, where they were required to join or support the black militia. Led by former slaves, the militia served as St. Augustine’s first line of defense.
The Spanish policy of offering asylum to runaway bondpeople did not reflect an enlightened policy on slave labor. The Spanish in Florida were not against SLAVERY but instead felt the threat of a growing British Empire. As South Carolina’s power grew and British settlers moved into Georgia, the Spanish used the British dependence on slavery as a weapon. By offering runaway slaves freedom, the Spanish hoped to inspire massive slave revolts in the British colonies and thus eliminate the growing British threat. This goal nearly became a reality in 1739 when slaves revolted at Stono, South Carolina. After successfully defeating their white owners, the slave leaders of the Stono Rebellion planned to flee to Florida and freedom. In part, this rebellion precipitated a British retaliatory attack on St. Augustine in 1740. One of the first areas to be attacked was Fort Mose. When the fort fell to British forces, the African militia moved into the city and joined the larger garrison; by all accounts, they fought bravely.
For those who gained their freedom in Florida, life at Fort Mose was difficult. Wetlands and a constructed moat isolated the fort from the rest of the community. Consequently, Fort Mose was one of the first segregated communities. While its primary purpose was the maintenance of a militia, it was also home to the soldiers’ families. For women and other noncombatants, employment was possible in St. Augustine. However, a constantly weak economy forced most to remain inside the fort. Although survival was often difficult, residents at least were not in bondage.
For many British slaves Fort Mose was a symbol of freedom. Although the policy of asylum increased tension along the Florida frontier, Spanish officials typically favored the rights of escaped slaves. In 1759 a census of Mose found the fort housed only 67 residents. While few in number, its influence on the region’s political climate was considerable. When the British took possession of Florida in 1763, the residents of the fort were evacuated, and the former slaves were moved to Cuba as free Spaniards.
See also Spanish colonies; Spanish immigration.
Further reading: Jane Landers, Black Society in Spanish Florida (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1999); Shane Runyon, “Fort Mose: The Free African Community and Militia of Spanish St. Augustine,” M. A. thesis (Montana State University, 1999).
—Shane Runyon
World History
