February 2023: Theodora Light

Indian Slavery and Maronnage in Early Modern Florida
Theodora Light

This presentation analyses instances of Indian maronnage across La Florida and the circum-Caribbean during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. As Indian slavery spread across the Spanish and English territories, distinct communities of displaced peoples appear across the historical record. Using the frameworks of maronnage, this presentation examines the role of these communities in the early colonial south.


Theodora Light is a PhD student in History at the University of Georgia. Her research centers on Indigenous Florida, particularly how Indian slavery affected Florida and the wider South during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. She currently works as a graduate teaching assistant but has experience and training in the field of public history.