My best journal entry from 1st identity paper

April 26th, 1800
Dear journal, today I find myself in the beautiful and diverse city of St. Augustine. There are so many different types of people here from Irish and American, to British and the bloody French. Although its a small knit community, I still have yet to meet everyone. Like the work I did in Pensacola, I found a job at the dockyard working with a local merchant loading and unloading new stock for shipment throughout the surrounding villages.
I met the strangest person the other night at the tavern, he had a very island like accent and came from Haiti. He went by the name Georges Biassou, and said he was the chieftain of a rebel group that was soon going to take over Haiti and kill every last white man that treated his people like dogs. As he told me his story and aspirations I continued to drink and eventually left due to his uncannily attitude towards my race.
Life has been swell. Now that I’m 23 the idea of owning land for myself and raising a family is beginning to run around my head. I haven’t the money to sustain myself let alone another person, so I’m not sure why its bothering me so much. Almost everywhere I go, from the the dockyard to the tavern I catch myself starting to wonder what my purpose is in life. I miss my family dearly and haven’t wrote to my mother in some time now. I pray every day and night for the promise of reuniting with my two sisters Jude and Annabelle again. They should be in their early twenties now probably married with a child or two.

Evolution

I do not think evolution is the appropriate term for that happened in the South during the beginning of the 20^th century when in reference to race relations. Rather, the beginning of the century marks a period of devolution in the treatment and equality of blacks in the US South. With the influence of such groups as the Ku Klux Klan and the White league growing and Jim Crow laws backing their anti-color cause, a wave of hate and intimidation plagued the black population. Exclusion from public and private institutions left many blacks without much needed care. Only after the first half of the century can a slow evolution of rights and relations be seen. Only after 1950 did all states admit blacks into mental wards. The establishment of such organizations as the Florida Progressive Voters League in the late 40s and beyond helped the black population to steadily gain a voice and struggle with their quest for equality. It is telling that I hear stories from my parents about the first years of integration in their middle schools when legal segregation is something unknown to my generation. That is evolution.

THE MULTIPLE VERSIONS OF A DIVERSE INSTITUTION OR A Firsthand Account of Slavery in Florida Being Recollections of My Time Here Spent

I have always admired men who do good deeds for those with no power to do them for themselves. Even as a child, I remember thinking with fondness on the Baron de Carondelet who, in his first “Bando de Buen Gobierno,” commanded that all slaves from that point on were to be well treated [1]. It warms my heart that Ewan has the responsibility of purchasing new slaves and bringing them here to work for Mr. Kingsley who gives hard working and intelligent slaves multiple beneficial opportunities. Why, earlier this year, Mr. Kingsley granted his wife and former slave Anna manumission, describing in the document the “truth and fidelity” with which she has served him—characteristics that surely are a result of the man’s own teachings and grace [2]. I would be surprised if, in the future, Mr. Kingsley did not give all of his slaves an opportunity for earned freedom [3]. I feel he is doing each black a great service, for I have heard the horrors that many enslaved Africans face at the hands of cruel masters. Why just yesterday, I heard from Molly our cook that an overseer from a nearby plantation forbade one of his boys from traveling to an adjacent plantation where his wife lived, telling him to instead take a new wife on his home plantation. When the poor man tried to go and see his wife, he was caught, staked hand and foot to the ground, and beaten near to death [4]. From what I have heard, it also seems to be a trend in this territory for masters to drink in excess then beat whoever is so unfortunate as to be at hand [5].

I abhor such cruelty, as does Mr. Kingsley who treats his slaves with the utmost trust and decency. Each of his workers is given a plot of land and receives daily orders on its cultivation and maintenance. At the completion of each day’s assignment, the worker is free to pursue a number of different occupations such as fishing and gardening [6]. As mentioned before, Mr. Kingsley entrusts the slaves themselves with many positions that would be held by white or mixed men on any other plantation. Here, we do not worry about slave revolts or escapes; Mr. Kingsley’s slaves are in the best of situations.

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Identity Paper Rosa Banderas

This first entry is describing a game the native tribes play and the second entry is a description of the attack on Fort St. Marks, my woman was mulatto Spanish nun who lived in San Luis a mission in the panhandle:

The first is you may not sleep the night before, those who play say falling asleep means a loss during the game the next day. ⁸ So with this the people here stay up howling with the dogs all night long. ⁸ The second is they need order 4 to 5 elderly men to go to sleep. ⁸ They then repeat their dreams to the man whom is leading. ⁸ Depending on the dream was where you set up your benches if someone who entered from a side was good then you set it up in that area and bad you avoid that side. ⁸ Thirdly a new fire is made and is only used for the game. ⁸ The fourth rule is not all the players may enter the plaza only after they are commanded to allow them entrance are they to take it to mean they will win the game. ⁸ Fifth they all entered the plaza and called upon the spirit of eslafiayupi who is son of Nicotaijulo, who killed an eagle and tricked snakes. ⁸ Then it is those who reach seven that win. ⁸ There is also a rule of a pole and an eagle of which I have yet to interpret, but warriors and women must dance around it before it is set up and they must also have a ball made of deer skin from the area around the feet. ⁸

Dear Diary, April 1, 1682

We had grave news from the south that the fort at St. Marks was destroyed by pirates. ⁹ The attack was due to a supply ship visiting and the fort was overtaken because of only a few soldiers being present. ⁹ A few friars I had met before were still there during the attack and were sent here to San Luis, for ransom for the others left at the fort.⁹ After a fortnight the pirates abandoned it and left it in ruins, taking one soldier and the commandant with them. Because of this and threat from the north we have suddenly find ourselves with 45 soldiers in our midst.3

[3] John H. Hann, Apalachee (University of Florida Press, 1988), 199-200, 331-353.

[8] Irving A. Leonard, Spanish Approach to Pensacola: 1689-1693.(The Quivira Society Publications,1939) 13-14.

[9] Diario y derrottero del Viaxe q. hico la fragata nra s^ra de la Conp^on al descubrim^to de la Vaia del Espirutu Santo, op. crit. Translated in Irving A. Leonard, “The Spanish Re-exploration of the Gulf Coast in 1686,” Mississippi Valley Historical Review, vol. XXII, No. 4 (March, 1936), pp. 547-557.

Best from my first paper

My Best Paragraph from first ID

Lucky for me, here in the swamp, we are all accepted, although in my lifetime I have seen many strides toward equality. About twenty years ago, in 1784, a man by the name of Patrick Henry tried to pass a law that offered a bounty to those who whites who decided to marry Indians. I have heard that the current president of America, Thomas Jefferson, spoke of a world where all races intermarry and intermingle to create one race ². Sadly, I believe that this is unachievable. Many Creeks dislike the white man, and would rather die then intermingle. I guess it is pride in ones heritage that causes them to be so stubborn. Sure, I have pride in my heritage as well, but I believe the pure bloods take it to a new level.

Identity Paper 1 Anita Duchossois

Probably the part of the paper that relates most to historical facts:

My family is Franco-Spanish. I am twenty five years old. Right now my husband Francois Duchossois runs a large plantation in the St. Augustine region of Florida. He is twenty seven years of age. We have two children, one boy one girl. One’s name is Marc the other’s name is Emily. The year is 1820. We could have chosen to live in the western part of the state but there were certain aspects of the east coast that made it more appealing for my family to live here. My parents knew both Anthony Hutchins and Florida governor Peter Chester. My family was not fond of Anthony Hutchins policies regarding land distribution[1]. His logic behind appropriating land to people made no sense. Some people got really large portions and some people received unfair treatment from him. For example we were told that he, “could be accused of negligence at times and inconsistency on other occasions. Widow Sarah Truly came to Natchez in July 1772, with three brothers, six children and six slaves. She finally received 700 acres in 1776.” They would make an appeal and he would never listen.[2] He is respected by many Floridians but we cannot say that for ourselves. I believe there is a lot of prosperity in this area of Florida. At the same time we like how St. Augustine is a quiet nice town. Given that St. Augustine has a military base we know it is a very safe place to live.[3] We chose St. Augustine versus northwest Florida because we heard bad things about the Pensacola area of Florida.[4] St. Augustine is one of the first official towns in the new world and we feel very proud to call it our residence.

Our neighborhood is very nice and open. There are not really many neighbors given that there are so many plantations. Some of our neighbors just use their homes in St. Augustine as winter residences and spend the summer up north in states like New York and New Hampshire.

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[1] Florida Historical Quarterly 1996

[2] Florida Historical Quarterly 1996

[3] National Park Service

[4] The Log of HMS Mentor 1780-1781 James A. Servies

Primary Source

My next identity paper will take place in 1860s through 1880s. So I found a primary source of Florida during the period just before the war broke out. This one will entail a lot of detail about the civil war and its effects on Florida families and especially the effects against women and the children if I can find enough articles. This article written by R. K. Call who wrote what was happening and the people around in great detail. The article speaks of a unanimous decision towards the union during an election in Gadsen County. The article describes the people present and what they were voting for and the land. It also discusses the anniversary of a victory in Mississippi by Jackson in the second part.

http://www.floridamemory.com/items/show/212527

Primary Source

I plan on using many primary sources many of them text documents but maybe a few that are more abstract. For example when talking about the civil war period I might refer to a proof of succession document. Florida drafted this up shortly after Lincoln was elected. Florida did indeed secede from the United States. This document was instrumental in Florida history and general Civil War history. This document and others will help make my second narrative tie into historical facts of the time period. I also plan on using other tools such as historical journals and newspapers if available.

I can't figure out how to upload it besides posting a link:http://www.floridamemory.com/onlineclassroom/floridacivilwar/documents/

Primary Source Doc.

A PRAYER FOR OUR ENEMIES.

O GOD, we beseech Thee, forgive and pardon our enemies, and give us that measure of Thy grace, that for their hatred we may love them; for their cursing we may bless them; for their injury we may do them good; and for their persecution we may pray for them. They have laid a net for our steps, and they have digged a pit before us; Lord, we desire not that they themselves should fall into the midst of these, but we beseech Thee keep us out of them, and deliver, establish, bless and prosper us for Thy mercy's sake in Jesus Christ our Saviour, to whom with Thee and the Holy Spirit, we desire to consecrate ourselves and our country, now and forever, imploring Thee to be our GOD, and to make us Thy people. Amen.

This is from a book called Prayers Suitable for the Times in Which We Live. My identity is a French and Catholic woman, who in this period will probably devote herself to the service of wounded soldiers in the Civil war as its effects are felt in the Florida territory. Her religious nature will be a driving force behind her work and she will pray often with the soldiers.

Racial Tensions and the Seminole-U.S. Conflict

Racial tension is at the heart of the Seminole- U.S. conflict. The Seminoles were coerced into changing the fundamentals of their lifestyle to match mainstream European ideals of culture and economy. The first to readily accept this “modernization” were the mixed blooded peoples; Mestizos quickly became the wealthiest of the Native American population in Florida. The U.S. government supported these people and their adaptation to white society and often used them as mediators for the Natives, so that when the Seminoles decided to resist white influence, they turned on the mixed-bloods who represented the changes to their society. Mestizo plantations were razed, their livestock slaughtered, and their families tormented. They represented for the Seminoles the antithesis of the classic ideologies they wished to revert back to.