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The colonial landscape of Southeastern America, particularly in Spanish Florida, reveals that people of African descent were integral to settlement and societal development. From its inception in 1565, St. Augustine, Florida, welcomed African individuals from various regions, including the Caribbean, South America, and Africa. By the 18th century, they constituted about 10% of the town's population, with many living in a complex system of freedom and unfreedom.
Throughout this turbulent period marked by European rivalries, American Indians struggled to retain control of their lands, further complicating the dynamics between the nations and African individuals, who often found themselves caught in the middle.