Governor Benavides Administers Justice – The Nieto-Rozo Case Not long after Benavides became embroiled in the Pedroso-Ayala case, he instituted another purge by the same methods he had used previously. He indicted two long-time captains of the Florida garrison—Ignacio Rodriguez Rozo and Bernardo Nieto Carbajal on charges that on the surface seemed serious. Nieto was indicted for threatening the life of the royal visitor, Antonio Ponce de Leon, and on an old charge (1701) of abusing the Apalache Indians. Rozo was accused of cowardice, illicit trade, and inciting a mutiny. First, as commander of 100 soldiers sent out to rout a party of 20 to 30 Indians, he had lost six of his men unnecessarily and allowed the entire band of savages to escape when he delayed his attack. Second, Rozo had traded illicitly with English sailors and had conspired with an English sea captain to sell illegal supplies in Saint Augustine. Third, he had ordered soldiers under his command to disregard strict military discipline and to ignore existing bans on marriage with the Florida women. [Note: Consejo 11/28/1721] As part of the purge which included Ayala and Pedroso, Benavides sent Nieto and Rozo to Spain for trial and sentencing, but here the machinery of justice moved more rapidly than in the Indies. The Council of the Indies immediately surveyed the documents submitted by Benavides and concluded that the governor had not used proper legal procedures in drawing up his case against Nieto and Rozo. He had not notarized the testimonies, and most of them had been reduced to vague summaries. In addition neither officer had been given a chance to testify in his own defense. The Council’s first inclination was to punish Benavides by forcing him to pay the costs of sending the two soldiers to Spain and back to Florida. It finally relented, however, believing that Benavides had acted in good faith. The governor obviously lacked experience and training in judicial processes and could hardly be expected to follow standard legal procedures. Still, in order to avoid future irregularities, the Council required the governor to submit all legal documents to the governor of Cuba for review by legal authorities in Havana. They would pass on the judicial methods used in Saint Augustine and authorize appeals. [Note: Consejo 11/28/1721] (Tepaske GSF)