The testimony of Thomás de la Torre, a Spanish slave who participated in Florida's 1686 attack against South Carolina, unfolds as a swashbuckling tale of pirates, spies, deadly storms, and a reluctant hero who overcame all obstacles. La Torre's actions and choices took place in the context of the growing Indian slave trade, the intensifying Anglo-Spanish rivalry, and the rise of African slavery
... [Show full abstract] in the colonial Southeast. A product of these changes, La Torre was also an agent of his destiny. In his year-long journey, he both seized opportunities and molded to pressures, successfully traversing among Spanish, English, Dutch, French, and Indian spaces. La Torre, ever mindful that the audience of his testimony consisted of the very Spanish officials who could enslave or liberate him, had to reconcile his self-professed loyalty to the Spaniards with the ardent autonomy of his actions. In a testimony riddled with tensions, La Torre depicted himself as confident, always knowledgeable, prepared, and capable of expanding the parameters of the colonial Southeast.