The Seminole Wars, also known as the Florida Wars, were a series of three interconnected military conflicts that took place in Florida between the United States and the Seminole people, a group of Native Americans who had established themselves in the region during the early 1700s. These wars, spanning from 1816 to 1858, were among the longest and most costly of the American Indian Wars in both human and financial terms for the United States. Although the wars were not continuous, they involved intermittent fighting and long periods of uneasy ceasefire. The conflicts ultimately played a pivotal role in shaping the history of both Florida and the Seminole Nation.