Governor Benavides Administers Justice: The Primo de Rivera Case Benavides, it appears, intended to purge all those who might oppose him, even if this meant the use of extralegal tactics. As governor he was determined to assert his mastery in Florida and found the judicial process a convenient means by which to rid the colony of possible critics and enemies. Rigging testimony, refusing the accused a chance to defend himself, and deviating from the standard judicial procedures, the was able to eliminate potential opponents like Ayala, Pedroso, Nieto, and Rozo. All four had been influential leaders in the colony; all four were purged by the governor. But still another antagonist remained in the colony—the cavalry captain, Joseph Primo de Rivera. Primo had come to Saint Augustine during Queen Anne’s War in command of a detachment of Cuban infantrymen. At the close of the war when his men returned to Havana, he chose to stay on in Florida, where he became captain of a newly formed cavalry company. In 1720 he assumed a new post. Upon Benavides’ recommendation the viceroy of New Spain appointed Primo governor of a tiny outpost on Saint Joseph’s Bay between Apalache and Pensacola. (Tepaske GSF)