Plantations were farms or estates where cash crops were grown to generate income. These farms were usually large and the planting system allowed a small number of people to oversee a large amount of land and labor. This system was used extensively in the southern United States during the antebellum period. Grant's Villa, the indigo plantation owned by Governor James Grant, was a 1,450-acre tract located approximately six miles northwest of St.
Augustine. The extension was limited to the east and south by the Guana River, to the west by the Norte River and to the north by vacant land. Starting in 1768, Africans enslaved by Grant cleared six hundred hectares for indigo cultivation. The indigo herb was processed to turn it into dye in six groups of vats spread across the fields. The plantation structures included two houses and a kitchen for the foreman and his assistants, stables for horses and other working animals from the plantation, a blacksmith shop, a large barn and an indigo house, chicken coops and chicken coops, and houses for enslaved black men and women.
All of these structures were made of wood. Alexander had decided to go to the plantation or live in the city, and he was promised to be treated nicely if he went to the countryside. Augustine arrived directly in England, usually on ships engaged in coastal trade bound for Charleston, where merchants combined the barrels from Grant's Villa with those from other plantations and sent a larger shipment across the Atlantic. The area is now in serious danger “at the hands of the anarchic gang mentioned above, which has committed many abuses and looted several plantations in the last twelve months. The rebels have reached Cowford and it has been said that their intention is to loot and destroy all the plantations on the river, which is likely to have an effect since there is only a detachment of 100 men who oppose them and there is no naval force on the river, except for a ten-gun sloop that the governor has been forced to collect and pay at a rate of 200 pounds a month, in addition to finding supplies.
The blacks on the plantation are currently strong and fat, to which the new ship contributes quite a bit, as Captain Wallace frequently sails above the ribbon and catches plenty of bass. This city is named after the previous owner of the land, the Everglades Plantation Company, as well as their unsuccessful attempts to establish a rice plantation in the area. As with other plantations in Central Florida, typical crops grown included peas, sweet corn, cucumbers, watermelons, blueberries, strawberries, beans and squash. From being a small event that spread through parks of Broward County area and finally settled in Volunteer last year, it has become a meeting for horticulturists to buy and sell plants they have dedicated their entire lives to caring for. The indigo harvest in general in this province has had very good results this year despite extreme drought in July, August and September. There are even annotations in plantation accounting books that document payments to commercial fishermen in months when Dick's catches were lower than expected.
Florida indigo plantations used to have long growing seasons that allowed supervisors to cut three cuttings from brush compared to just two cuttings in plantations in Georgia and South Carolina. In addition, this plantation contained two orange fields of approximately one hectare each planted between 1769 and 1770 with lemon, linden and bittersweet orange trees. This essay examines experiences at Grant's Villa which was most profitable indigo plantation in province. It focuses on issues related to plantations and contains important information about agriculture and slavery in East British Florida.
