Still another factor preventing a religious revival among the Indians was the bitter struggle that broke out in the 1720s between the Creoles and the Spaniards for control of the Franciscan order. As tensions grew among the Franciscans, chapter and conventual politics became more vital to them than mission work. Morale broke down completely. Early Signs of a Split within the Order AN307 During the first two decades of the 18th century there were few signs of a split within the order. During Queen Anne’s War the destruction of the missions by the Carolinians and the Indians and the martyrdom of Franciscans in Gulae and Apalache bound the friars together and kept them from engaging in petty disputes. In addition some friars—mostly Spaniards without strong ties in the colony—left for more profitable fields elsewhere in the Indies, leaving religious work in Florida principally to the Creoles, whose roots were deeper in the province. Initially there was no opposition in Florida to the Creole orientation within the order. During the early years of the 18th century neither the Spanish governor, the Spanish residents, nor the remaining Spanish friars challenged the new Creole focus. In fact, Creole domination of chapter and conventual affairs fitted the Creole emphasis in the military and economic spheres in Florida. In 1719, however, the factional quarrel broke into the open for the first time when the nine friars arriving from Spain found the order completely dominated by Creoles, with Spanish friars being relegated to secondary positions. Creoles, declared three of the nine soon after disembarking in Saint Augustine, held all the choice posts in the chapter and in the more opulent Indian communities. Colonial-born, colonial-trained Franciscans, complained the trio, had assumed powers than properly belonged to peninsulars and were abusing their new-found authority to the detriment of the order and the spiritual well-being of the colony. [Note 95: tres doctrineros to king 2/25/1720] (Tepaske GSF)