Source: Amy Notes (ID702)
Author: Howard, Amy (ID633)
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Content id: 26652
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This means Mend got no part of the situado, except probably people paying him for past work.
This means Mend got no part of the situado, except probably people paying him for past work.
Cross references
SA's governor could only appoint cavalry and militia captains
Date Created: 2023-10-12 20:56:17
Source: The Governorship of Spanish Florida (ID 122)
Author: TePaske, John J. (ID 86)
Content_id: 3859
The Governor and Colonial Patronage The king and the Council of the Indies held control of virtually all appointments in Florida. They picked the governor, his accountant and treasurer, and all military officers except a cavalry captain and militia captain chosen by the governor. Even then the militia captaincy was purely an honorary post with no financial advantage accruing to its holder. AN385 This seemingly left the governor with little power over the patronage. He could appoint a cavalry captain, but decades might pass before this post fell vacant, leaving some governors without the authority to choose any of their associates. Appointive power thus seemed to rest firmly in the hands of the governor’s superiors in Spain, not with him in Saint Augustine. But again theory and practice diverged. In reality the governor had wide influence over appointments despite his seeming impotence under the law. When an office fell vacant (usually because of sickness, incompetence, transfer, or death), the governor played a key role in filling the post. He immediately appointed an associate to take the office temporarily, then notified the Council of the Indies of the opening. At the same time he included his personal recommendation, invariably his temporary choice. With few exceptions the king and the Council of the Indies approved the governor’s appointee. It was not worth their time and trouble to nominate and approve a new man for infantry captain, treasurer, or accountant. For the Floridians reaffirmation of the governor’s temporary appointment came with such predictable regularity that it must have been obvious that his favor was essential in order to secure a permanent post. [Note: There are many instances of this procedure. See particularly… Provisions de empleos, mercedes, y gracias: anos de 1730 a 1778.] The governor’s grip on appointments did not always go unchallenged… [2/23/1720] (Tepaske GSF)