Timucua Indians and Spanish Settlers

On October 31st we went on a field trip to the Old Florida Museum to learn about the Timucua Indians and the Spanish settlers. The natives of North Florida were known as the Timucua Indians and their settlement in this area was called the Village of Seloy. These Native Americans were said to be a handsome people with most achieving an average height of 6 feet or more. They were hunters, gatherers, and farmers. The women took care of the home, children, and cooking while the men provided food and protection for the family. These Indians developed a way of life that enabled them to live and prosper in the world they lived in.
Students experience pre-European life in old Florida by:
Jewelry making
Native American games
Indian tools
Corn grinding
Tattooing
Gardening
Face paint

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 Afro-American slaves of 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. The activities the children participated in were:
Candle dipping
Rope making
Colonial games
Corn grinding
Woodworking
Washing dishes in a wooden sink
Smashing shells for tabby
Weaving
Fence building

Here are some photos of our time there.