Osceola, Seminole

Osceola was born in Creek Country in Georgia about 1803, his father was a British trader and his mother the daughter of Creek chief.  He was said to have had a European appearance because his grandfather was Scottish.  He was sometimes called Powell, which was his white step-father's name.  His mother took him to northern Florida when he was very young and he grew up to become a leader of the Seminoles.  He took the name Osceola from a black drink containing caffeine used in tribal ceremonies.

Osceola became a leader during the second Seminole war in 1835.  He was opposed to the Indians removal from their land and being sent west.  As a result of his opposition he was sent to prison.  After he was released he killed the Indian agent and began attacks on the Americans which began the warfare.  Osceola defeated force after force that was sent against him.  General Thomas Jessup asked Osceola to discuss a truce.  Under a flag of truce Jessup seized Osceola and had him imprisoned.  These treacheries, plus imprisonment, lead to his death in the Fort Moultrie South Carolina prison in 1838.

The original people of Florida included the Timucia, Apalachee and Calusa Indians.  They were absorbed by the Seminoles, who were mostly Lower Creeks from Georgia and Hitchiti who came to Florida in the early 18th century when it was Spanish territory.  They were joined by other refugee Indians and escaped slaves.

The Seminoles occupied land in northern Florida that was coveted by American settlers in Georgia.  This and the fact that they were known for harboring fugitive slaves became cause for dissension.  The U.S. was fighting the war of 1812 with the British.

Andrew Jackson was sent to seize the Florida territory from Spain and he destroyed several Indian settlements before capturing Pensacola in May 1818.  In 1819 Florida became a U.S. territory and colonists began moving in to northern Florida and forcing the Indians to the south where the regions were unsuitable to their agriculture.  

Andrew Jackson started a policy of Indian removal.  The Indians resistance resulted in the Seminole wars.  In 1823 the Indians ceded most to their tribal lands to the U.S. and in 1832 the treaty of “Paynes Land" bound them to move to territory west of the Mississippi.  

After the capture of Osceola in 1837, and the end of the 2nd Seminole war in 1842 many of the Indians were forced west to Indian Territory (now Oklahoma).  After the third Seminole war another 250 were removed and a peace treaty was signed in 1935 with the remaining Indians.  In 1962 the Mikasuki acquired ownership of their lands in the Everglades.  The Florida Seminole have five reservations.