Originally, the Seminoles were hunters who used muskets to hunt deer, turkey and other game and who fished. They gathered fruits, nuts and berries. Later, however, they settled down and became excellent farmers. They grew corn, sugarcane, guava and bananas. They also were successful in raising stock, including horses and cattle. The term "Seminole" is a derivative of "cimarron" which means "wild men" in Spanish. The original Seminoles were given this name because they were Indians who had escaped from slavery in the British-controlled northern colonies. When they came to Florida, they were not called Seminoles as they were actually Creeks, Indians of Muskogee derivation. The Muskogean tribes comprised the Mississipian culture which were temple-mound builders. Among the Muskogean tribes were the Creeks, Hitichis and Yamasees of Georgia, the Apalachees of Florida, the Alabamas and Mobiles of Alabama, and the Choctaws, Chickasaws and Houmas of Mississippi.

The original Seminoles came to Florida because it was controlled by the Spanish, who had no interest in returning slaves to the British. They were mostly Lower Creeks who spoke the Mikasuki language, but other Indians, including Yuchis, Yamasees and Choctaws who had confronted Ponce de Leon and DeSoto, also joined the tribe in their trek to northern Florida from Georgia during the early 1700s. By this time, many of the tribes in Florida, including the Tequestas, Calusas, Apalachees, Timucans and others, had been decimated by the Spanish presence, either in battles or by diseases such as smallpox. Out of an estimated 100,000 native Americans that occupied Florida during the 1500s, less than 50 survived.
In 1767, Upper Creeks from Alabama, who spoke the Muskogee language, settled in the Tampa area. Shortly after this, in 1771, the first recorded usage of the name "Seminole" to denote an actual tribe was recorded. In 1778, the Seminoles were joined by more Lower Creeks and a few Apalachees.

Another habit many of the other tribes acquired from the whites was that of slavery. Though some of the tribes actually owned African slaves, the Seminoles never did. Indeed, many black Africans escaping from slavery in the Carolinas and Georgia came to Florida and built settlements near the Seminoles. They formed a union with the Seminoles based upon both their mutual fear of slavery. This union was a strong one which surpassed attempts by the U.S. to break them apart. Intermarriages and friendships were common. In fact, they were so closely allied that the blacks became known as the Black Seminoles.

The prosperity of the Seminoles disturbed former slaveholders in the U.S. In 1812, Seminoles learned that a group of Georgians who called themselves "Patriots" were plotting to attack Seminole settlements. The Seminoles got the jump on these potential invaders by attacking them on their plantations. This action infuriated the government and as a result, American troops led by Andrew Jackson crossed into Florida and destroyed towns in northern Alachua County. In 1816, American forces commanded by General Edmund Gaines attacked Fort Negro, an old British enclave on the Apalachicola River now occupied by mostly Black Seminoles. Trouble erupted again in 1817 when Americans crossed the Florida border to arrest a Seminole chief. That led to the First Seminole War which began a year later when Andrew Jackson crossed the border with troops. Jackson and his men ruthlessly burned Seminole villages and captured the Spanish towns of St. Marks and Pensacola. Unfortunately for the Seminoles, Spain ceded Florida to the United States in 1819. This gave Americans wanting to settle the lush state an opportunity. Though they got the Seminoles to agree to move onto a reservation in the state's center, their greed was insatiable. The settlers wanted more.

On May 28, 1830, the settlers got the backing they wanted from the U.S. government. The Indian Removal Act was passed by Congress at President Andrew Jackson's urging. The Indian Removal Act gave the government the authority to remove all the Five Civilized Tribes east of the Mississippi to the Indian Territory in Arkansas and Oklahoma. Only one group of Indians -- the Seminoles -- successfully resisted removal and they did so fiercely. Their resistance to removal brought about the Second Seminole War. It began on December 28, 1835, when a column of 108 soldiers led by Major Dade was massacred by Seminole warriors at the Dade Battle in Sumpter County. Just four days later, on December 31, the famous Seminole leader Osceola (pronounced as Asi-Yaholo) with only 250 warriors attacked a column of 750 men under General Duncan Clinch in the Battle of Withlacoochee in Citrus County. He soundly defeated the soldiers. Osceola promised to fight the white invaders "till the last drop of Seminole blood has moistened the dust of my hunting ground." Frustrated by Osceola's continuing successes, General Jesup resorted to deception, luring Osceola and fellow Seminoles into a trap under the guise of a meeting on peace. Osceola was captured and imprisoned, where he contracted a fatal illness and died. War broke out again in 1855 when a military survey party was attacked by Chief Billy Bowlegs in Collier County. The Third Seminole War lasted until 1858. The few remaining Seminoles who lived in the Everglades traded skins and hides at trading posts and raised cattle.

Those years brought out two legendary Seminole leaders - the famous warrior Osceola and the inspirational medicine man Abiaka. Elegant in dress, handsome of face, passionate in nature and giant of ego, Osceola masterminded successful battles against five baffled U.S. generals, murdered the United State's Indian agent, took punitive action against any who cooperated with the white man and stood as a national manifestation of the Seminoles' strong reputation for non-surrender. Osceola was not a chief with the heritage of a Micanopy or Jumper, but his skill as an orator and his bravado in conflict earned him great influence over Seminole war actions. Osceola's death in prison at Fort Moultrie, SC, was noted on front pages around the world. In 1838 he was the most famous Native American. The word Osceola is a corrupted English pronunciation of the Seminole name for Black Drink Singer. During purification rites, a Seminole warrior drinks a black liquid brewed from the leaves of holly bushes. The word "Assin-ye-o-la" is the long, drawn-out cry that accompanied the ceremonial drinking.

Seminole medicine man Abiaka may have been more important to the internal Seminole war machine than Osceola. Wise old Abiaka kept the resistance fueled before and after Osceola's period of prominence and, when the fighting had concluded, was the only major Seminole leader to remain in Florida.