Editing Underground Railroad (section)

===The "Saltwater Railroad" freedom route===

[[File:The merchant vessel - a sailor boy's voyages around the world (1884) (14593118478).jpg|thumb|A scene in the Bahamas in 1884]]

From 1821 to 1861, freedom seekers escaped from the Southeastern slave states of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida to the [[The Bahamas|Bahamas]] on a secret route called the "Saltwater Railroad." Prior to 1821, Florida was a Spanish colony called by historians, [[Spanish Florida]], where enslaved runaways were declared free under Spanish laws. However, by 1821 Florida was under the control of the United States. Free Blacks in Florida feared they might be re-enslaved under American laws and hundreds of free people escaped to the Bahamas. From 1821 to 1825, the Southern beaches of Florida provided a safe haven for freedom seekers looking to escape on boats that departed from Florida going to the island. Other freedom seekers escaped by making their own canoes and boats and sailed to the Bahamas unaided.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Campbell |first1=Nicole |title=The Saltwater Railroad (1821 to 1861) |url=https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/the-saltwater-railroad-1821-1861/ |website=The Black Past |date=April 26, 2020 |access-date=12 September 2024}}</ref><ref name="auto4">{{cite web |last1=Wills |first1=Matthew |title=The Saltwater Railroad |url=https://daily.jstor.org/the-saltwater-road/ |website=JSTOR Daily |date=September 6, 2019 |access-date=12 September 2024}}</ref>

[[File:Gulf of Mexico.png|thumb|Enslaved people in the United States departed off the Southern Florida coast in boats and escaped to the Bahamas.]]

By 1825, the construction of the [[Cape Florida Light]]house (in present-day [[Miami-Dade County, Florida|Miami-Dade County]]) was a setback to enslaved runaways looking to escape at night on boats off the Florida coast due to the bright light that was helpful to guide sailors off the Florida Reef. The Bahamas attracted enslaved people because there was a community of [[Black Seminoles]] and other escapees. The Bahamas was a British controlled island where under local imperial practices Black people owned land, had access to education, and were legally married. In addition, in 1825, Britain declared that any escapees reaching British controlled lands were free. This declaration resulted in hundreds of more slaves in the United States to escape to the island. By the 1830s, historians estimate that at least 6,000 freedom seekers made their way to the Bahamas, and by the 1840s, the Bahamas had more enslaved runaways than any British colony in the Caribbean.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Knetsch |first1=Joe |last2=Winsboro |first2=Irvin |title=Florida Slaves, the 'Saltwater Railroad' to the Bahamas, and Anglo-American Diplomacy |journal=The Journal of Southern History |date=2013 |volume=79 |issue=1 |page=56 |jstor=23795403 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23795403 |access-date=12 September 2024}}</ref> The actions of Britain to liberate enslaved Americans strained political relationships with the United States. In 1841 on the slave ship, ''[[Creole mutiny|Creole]]'', a slave revolt occurred. The Creole departed from Virginia with over one hundred enslaved people heading to New Orleans, Louisiana. The enslaved revolted and took control of the ship and sailed it to [[Nassau, The Bahamas|Nassau]] in the Bahamas. This revolt sparked international attention; the escapees were charged but later released.<ref name="auto4"/><ref>{{cite news |last1=Lyons |first1=Douglas |title='Saltwater Railroad' had its roots on Cape Florida |url=https://www.floridarambler.com/historic-florida-getaways/saltwater-railroad-cape-florida/ |access-date=12 September 2024 |agency=Florida Rambler |date=2024}}</ref>