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From 1700 through to the 1850s, enslaved Africans and Black Americans who sought freedom fled plantations in South America and joined The Seminole Nation in the promising peninsula of Florida. The Seminole Nation were welcoming of newcomers, particularly those who were also escaping the powers of European colonizers. Once allied, a strong identity was created through their mutual fight for freedom and they became Black Seminoles. Their shared economy thrived on farming, hunting, fishing, and gathering wild foods. Alongside bananas, melons and grapes, a key food for Black Seminoles was guava – a fruit that served their tribes well from as early as 1800s when they cultivated their own guava trees.