The maize production that the Franciscans exacted of their parishioners was the true tribute in Florida, one with an importance underscored by 50 years of bitter controversy. The friars were determined to sell the grain outside of Florida to pay their debts and finance the adornment of their churches. The governors were resolved to co-opt it for the garrison or to tap the profits. In the end it was military necessity that won. During the governorship of Torres y Ayala the chiefs of Apalache built a fort in San Luis at a cost of 304 pesos for the hardware, blacksmiths’ wages, and workmen’s rations. The money, according to royal officials, came from the “1695 and 1696 tithes of those provinces." [Note 116: Thomas Menendez Marquez and Joachin de Florencia 7/1/1697] (Bushnell KC)