Hostility

One of the dominant themes of the book during the period of the development of Florida is hostility. Hostility is the national reaction when one group of people tries to dominate another group. The Indians had inhabited the Everglades for centuries before the appearance of the white man. They would not easily give up their land or freedom and this was the source of continual conflict between the Indians and the white men. The white men, like Menendez, wanted to take control of the Indians and Florida but couldn't. When white settlements appeared, there was constant conflict between the settlers and the Indians; each attacked the other. After Florida gained statehood in 1845, it entered the union as a slave state. The Everglades continued to be a sanctuary for runaway slaves who were accepted and protected by the Indians. This led to many conflicts with slave owners and this...