New Smyrna Florida-the tragic story behind the colonist Andrew Turnbull
Of the 1403 passengers (the majority of them were Greeks) not all arrived alive in Florida. The journey, with many difficulties, took five months, with 148 dying from adversity before landing. Those who came alive found a real hell. Almost all of the space behind the sandy beach was covered with barbed cacti, nestled beneath them by countless snakes and other reptiles. It would take hard work to get this barren land back into cultivation. Florida was nothing more than a paradise country they had dreamed of. Mosquitoes, snakes, unbearable heat, humidity, sudden thunderstorms, malaria and other ailments and very hard work have literally decimated the settlers of New Smyrna. Next year, 300 men and women and about 150 children will die from inhumane conditions. In 1769, a year after their arrival, the settlers decided to put an end to the passing martyrs. They devised a plan to grab some boats and take refuge in Cuba. But their plan failed, and the English foreman executed the three rebel leaders mercilessly.
The caretakers, with their lashes in hand, were particularly hard on the colonists.Each person received only a handful of maize a day and 60 grams of pork a week. Their caretakers forbid fishing to supplement their diet so as not to lose time in their daily work in the fields. A mother, who had stolen bread to feed her hungry children, was flogged by the caretakers. In fact, they forced her husband to perform her whip. Within the next nine years, 964 had died. Among them many children. When these unfortunate people sought to get rid of their legal obligation to Turnbull - an obligation that would not last for more than six years - they stubbornly refused. Thus, cut off from their place and without protection, they were essentially slaves and the only redemption seemed the Death.
I am smoking Pfeifen Huber Labyrinth Mixture in a Brebbia, a glass of semi-sweet wine beside me.