Keywords
Seminoles, seminole indians, native americans, american indians, frontier florida, third seminole war, seminole wars, indian wars, florida history
Abstract
This study examines in depth the most common interpretation of the opening of the Third Seminole War (1855-1858). The interpretation in question was authored almost thirty years after the beginning of the war, and it alleges that the destruction of a Seminole banana plant garden by United States soldiers was the direct cause of the conflict. This study analyzes the available primary records as well as traces the entire historiography of the Third Seminole War in order to ascertain how and why the banana garden account has had such an impactful and long-lasting effect. Based on available evidence, it is clear that the lack of fully contextualized primary records, combined with the failure of historians to deviate from or challenge previous scholarship, has led to a persistent reliance on the banana garden interpretation that continues to the present. Despite the highly questionable and problematic nature of this account, it has dominated the historiography on the topic and is found is almost every written source that addresses the beginning of the Third Seminole War. This thesis refutes the validity of the banana garden interpretation, and in addition, provides alternative explanations for the Florida Seminoles' decision to wage war against the United States during the 1850s.
Notes
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Graduation Date
2015
Semester
Spring
Advisor
Murphree, Daniel
Degree
Master of Arts (M.A.)
College
College of Arts and Humanities
Department
History
Degree Program
History; Public History
Format
application/pdf
Identifier
CFE0005710
URL
http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0005710
Language
English
Release Date
May 2015
Length of Campus-only Access
None
Access Status
Masters Thesis (Open Access)
STARS Citation
Settle, John, "Chief Bowlegs and the Banana Garden: A Reassessment of the Beginning of the Third Seminole War" (2015). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 1177.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd/1177