![]() If you have never heard of these sponge wars it is not necessarily your fault. A clash of vitriolic racial prejudice as much as commercial competition the end of the massive sponge trade after World War II can serve as the termination date of these undeclared but quite bloody series of “wars.” Since this war was never officially declared, its beginning can be arbitrarily given as 1905 the date of the first mass influx of Greek immigrant divers to Florida. Spanning literally thousands of miles of water, these deadly engagements in the waters of Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean have seen retelling in motion pictures, regional history and even folk songs. For nearly fifty years, Greek immigrant sponge divers fought American-born fisher folk over the richest sponging grounds on the planet. ![]() ![]() No short account can hope to even outline every clash, engagement, or battle of the extended Sponge Wars. ![]()
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