Seminole History Timeline

A dynasty of chiefs associated with the Alachua chiefdom, founded in eastern Florida by Cowkeeper during the 18th century, became important in Seminole political leadership.

In 1818, Billy Emathla was identified as chief of a Yuchi town of approximately 75 people associated with Mikasuki villages east of Tallahassee.

Beginning in 1825, Micanopy served as principal chief of the unified Seminole until his death in 1849 after removal to Indian Territory.

Micanopy’s sister’s son, John Jumper, became principal chief in 1849 and held the position until his death in 1853.

After John Jumper died in 1853, his brother Jim Jumper became principal chief of the Seminole.

A division among the Seminoles persisted until 1872, although the groups cooperated for mutual defense and remained self-governing through the 19th century.

The 1868 Florida Constitution, created by the Reconstruction legislature, granted the Seminoles one seat in the state house and one in the senate.

After white Democrats regained control of Florida’s legislature, they removed the Seminole legislative representation provision from the constitution ratified in 1885.

In the early 20th century, Florida Seminoles reestablished limited relations with the United States government after the Seminoles in Oklahoma and Florida had experienced little official contact.

In 1906, Florida Governor Napoleon B. Broward began an effort to drain the Everglades and convert its wetlands into farmland.

In 1930, the Florida Seminoles received 5,000 acres of reservation land in south Florida. Members gradually moved onto the land.

Before World War II, Florida Seminoles divided between more traditional people and those willing to adapt to reservation life and changing outside institutions.

In 1946, the Department of the Interior established the Indian Claims Commission to consider compensation claims by tribes whose lands had been seized by the federal government.

Many traditional people living near the Tamiami Trail organized separately from the federally recognized Seminole Tribe of Florida and received state recognition as the Miccosukee in 1957.

In 1957, reservation Seminoles reorganized their government, established formal relations with the United States, and received federal recognition as the Seminole Tribe of Florida.

The Oklahoma and Florida Seminoles filed claims before the August 1961 deadline, seeking compensation for lands taken during periods of conflict.

The Miccosukee Tribe of Indians in Florida received federal recognition in 1962. Its members had largely retained traditional practices and the Mikasuki language.

The Miccosukee and allied Traditional groups filed suit against the settlement because they opposed accepting money in place of their claim for the return of lands in Florida.

The Oklahoma and Florida tribes entered negotiations over allocation of the judgment, creating their first sustained contact in more than a century since removal.

After combining the claims, the Indian Claims Commission awarded the Seminole a total of $16 million in April 1976, finding that they had exclusively occupied and used 24 million acres at the time of the 1823 treaty.

In 1990, the settlement was divided with three-quarters awarded to the Seminole Tribe of Oklahoma and one-quarter to the Florida Seminoles, including the Miccosukee.

After Anglo-American colonists raided Seminole settlements in the mid-18th century, Seminoles retaliated by attacking the Southern Colonies, particularly Georgia, reportedly with Spanish encouragement.

Image source: Seminole Wars

After the American Revolutionary War, Britain reached a settlement with Spain and transferred East Florida and West Florida back to Spanish control.

Image source: History of Florida

General Andrew Jackson’s 1817–1818 campaign against the Seminoles became known as the First Seminole War.

The United States and Spain signed the Adams–Onís Treaty in 1819; it took effect in 1821 and transferred Florida to the United States.

Image source: Adams–Onís Treaty

After the United States acquired Florida, many enslaved African Americans and Black Seminoles escaped from Cape Florida to the British Bahamas, especially Andros Island. Contemporary accounts recorded groups of 120 in 1821 and about 300 in 1823.

Under settler pressure, the United States made the Treaty of Camp Moultrie with the Seminoles, taking approximately 24 million acres in northern Florida.

Image source: Treaty of Moultrie Creek

The United States signed the Treaty of Payne’s Landing with several Seminole chiefs in 1832, helping precipitate the conflict over removal.

Image source: Treaty of Payne's Landing

The U.S. Army arrived in 1835 to enforce the Treaty of Payne’s Landing, beginning the Second Seminole War.

Image source: Second Seminole War

Seminole forces opposed combined U.S. Army and militia forces that grew from roughly 6,000 troops at the outset to about 9,000 at the height of deployment in 1837.

In 1837, Osceola was arrested while attending negotiations under a flag of truce, an action widely regarded as a breach of honor.

After a full decade of fighting, the Second Seminole War ended in 1842. About 3,800 Seminoles and Black Seminoles were ultimately forcibly removed to Indian Territory.

Later skirmishes from 1855 to 1858 constituted the Third Seminole War. Perhaps 200 survivors retreated deep into the Everglades, to land settlers did not want.

Image source: Seminole Wars

From 1861 to 1866, a Seminole chief led those who supported the Union and fought in the Indian Brigade during the Civil War.

In July 1864, Secretary of War James A. Seddon received word that A. McBride had raised a company of 65 Seminoles who volunteered to fight for the Confederacy.

The Seminole developed a thriving trade network during the British and second Spanish periods, roughly from 1767 to 1821.

In the mid-20th century, Seminole communities in Florida and Oklahoma revived old crafts and traditions while seeking revenue from tourists traveling on the new interstate highway system.

In 1979, the Seminoles opened the first casino on Indian land, a tribally operated bingo hall that helped inaugurate the multibillion-dollar Native American gaming industry.

In the 21st century, gaming became highly lucrative for the tribes, and fewer Seminoles relied on crafts as their primary source of income.

On December 7, 2006, the Seminole Tribe of Florida purchased the Hard Rock Café chain of restaurants.

Image source: Hard Rock Cafe

In 2007, the Seminole Tribe purchased the Hard Rock Café and subsequently rebranded or opened several casinos and gaming resorts under the Hard Rock name.