Speaker 1: Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeart Radio. Hey brain Stuff,
Speaker 1: Lauren Vogelbaum here. When we hear the term underground railroad,
Speaker 1: we usually think of the network of secret overland routes
Speaker 1: traversed by enslaved people escaping north into Ohio and across
Speaker 1: the border into Canada. In America, in the early eighteen hundreds,
Speaker 1: the underground Railroad launched a freedom movement that brought people
Speaker 1: of varying religions and races together in a unified fight
Speaker 1: against the horror and injustice of chattel slavery. But did
Speaker 1: you know that there was a southern version of the
Speaker 1: underground railroad as well. In the early eighteen hundreds, enslaved
Speaker 1: black people in Florida and other regions of the South
Speaker 1: were hundreds of miles from border states like Maryland and
Speaker 1: Kentucky and thousands of miles away from British Canada, making
Speaker 1: their options and odds for a successful escape that way
Speaker 1: close to zero. We spoke via email with Dr Paul George,
Speaker 1: Resident History and at History Miami Museum. He said the
Speaker 1: Saltwater Underground Railroad headed south into Spanish Florida, a region
Speaker 1: which was really off the grid and close to other
Speaker 1: areas outside of the US which might behavens for fugitives.
Speaker 1: Believed to have operated from between eight and eighteen sixty one.
Speaker 1: The Saltwater Underground Railroad refers to the coastal escape route
Speaker 1: followed by enslaved people into the British controlled Bahamas. People
Speaker 1: who are running away from southern slave states escaped through
Speaker 1: an underground to South Florida. From there, some paid for
Speaker 1: their passage on Bahamian vessels, while others made their way
Speaker 1: across the perilous Atlantic in dugout canoes and small boats.
Speaker 1: Once out to sea under cover of night, they faced
Speaker 1: unimaginable unknowns, unpredictable weather and storms, recaptured by slave hunters,
Speaker 1: assault by pirates, and unfathomably deep dark waters. Situated about
Speaker 1: a hundred and fifty miles or two hundred forty kilometers
Speaker 1: off the coast of Key Biscape in Miami, Florida, Bahamas
Speaker 1: were a viable destination for several reasons. For one, in
Speaker 1: eighteen twenty five, the British government decreed that anyone who
Speaker 1: relocated to British territory was free, regardless of their prior status,
Speaker 1: and in eighteen thirty four slavery was abolished in all
Speaker 1: British territories, including the Bahamas. Free black people in the
Speaker 1: British Bahamas could get married, own land, and pursue an education. Secondly,
Speaker 1: most of the Bahamas inhabitants were black, it was relatively
Speaker 1: easy for escape ees to assimilate into the diverse communities
Speaker 1: of Bahamians made up largely of descendants of enslaved Africans,
Speaker 1: some of whom were themselves escape ees called Maroons, including
Speaker 1: some who had taken refuge with the Seminole people. George said.
Speaker 1: They settled into neighborhoods alongside families of earlier fugitives. Many
Speaker 1: of their descendants still reside there, maritime people as well
Speaker 1: as farmers. Between eight and eighteen thirty seven, in the
Speaker 1: early years after the US acquired Florida from Spain in
Speaker 1: eighteen nineteen, hundreds of Maroons fled to Andrews Island in
Speaker 1: the Bahamas. The US paid off Spain's debt to landowners
Speaker 1: who had lost their human property, and thus began a
Speaker 1: forty year campaign to locate and capture formerly enslaved Africans
Speaker 1: who had escaped to Spanish Florida, as well as to
Speaker 1: force the seven old people onto reservations west of the
Speaker 1: Mississippi on the Trail of Tears. In fifty six, the
Speaker 1: Spanish had brought the first enslaved Africans to what would
Speaker 1: become America, though that colony collapsed and British colonies began
Speaker 1: springing up a century later. In an effort to destabilize
Speaker 1: those colonies, Spain, which had by then established a foothold
Speaker 1: further south, began offering asylum to refugees from slavery in
Speaker 1: sixteen ninety three, though only if they converted to Catholicism
Speaker 1: and did four years of military service. That enticing policy
Speaker 1: made Spanish Florida into a haven for enslaved people seeking
Speaker 1: their freedom, and led to the birth of the First
Speaker 1: League lea sanctioned free black settlement in what would become
Speaker 1: the United States. Fort Mose near St. Augustine. This community
Speaker 1: was probably a way point for black refugees heading south,
Speaker 1: but with the ratification of the Honest Adams Treaty in
Speaker 1: eighteen Florida effectively became a US territory that allowed slavery,
Speaker 1: spurring Black Floridians to make their way through palmetto fields,
Speaker 1: dense marshy flats mangrove forests and swamps to get to
Speaker 1: the beaches of southern Florida, where they could hopefully secure
Speaker 1: safe passage to freedom in the Bahamas. George said Miami
Speaker 1: was likely the main escape point of the Saltwater Underground Railroad,
Speaker 1: more specifically keep Askayne on the Bay and Ocean, seven
Speaker 1: miles southeast of Miami, with the Cape Florida Lighthouse up by,
Speaker 1: it was all over for that main escape route of
Speaker 1: the Saltwater Underground Railroad. That lighthouse still stands in Bill
Speaker 1: Bag's Cape Florida State Park on Key Biscayne and is
Speaker 1: one of two designated National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom
Speaker 1: sites in Florida. Historians estimate that before the eighteen thirties,
Speaker 1: as many as six thousand enslaved people had escaped to
Speaker 1: the Bahamas. Today's episode was written by Carrie Tetro and
Speaker 1: produced by Tyler Clang. For more on those and lots
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