Annexation        
Spain ceded Florida in 1819 under the Adams-Onis Treaty. The U.S. took formal possession in 1821, with Jackson briefly serving as the first governor.
For the Black Seminoles, annexation was a bleak prospect. Their nemesis Jackson had
triumphed, and so had their greatest enemy -- southern-style slavery. For the first time since the early 1700s, chattel slavery was now in full force in Florida.*
  
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Part 1, Early Years: l
*While the British practiced chattel slavery during their brief possession of Florida (1763-83), their pro-fugitive policy during the Revolutionary War somewhat mitigated its implementation. |
