The Seminole, unlike the Cherokee and Choctaw, fiercely resisted the United States government's efforts to relocate them west. They staged a lengthy and costly war known as the Seminole Wars (1817-1858) to defend their lands in Florida. The Seminole strategy of guerrilla warfare, knowledge of the land, and collaboration with escaped African American slaves made it extremely difficult for the US government to remove them. This resistance ultimately led to the negotiation of a series of treaties that allowed the Seminole to remain in their native lands in Florida.
