...at the time of his [Menendez's] death in 1574 his proprietary rights fell to the crown. Florida thus lost its status as a semi-independent fief and became the exclusive domain of the king, who brought it more rigidly under his personal control. After 1574 the monarch appointed loyal subjects to the governorship and regulated their activities by means of royal laws and decrees. The passing of the adelantado in Florida and throughout the rest of the Empire during the last half of the 16th century marked the beginning of a new era in Spanish imperial administration. This epoch saw the crown gradually discard its liberal attitudes toward conquest and colonization in the Indies and assume for itself more and more of the special privileges and responsibilities previously granted to enterprising soldiers. Colonial administration became more strictly regimented. Royal law began to define the conduct of colonial officials more minutely. The adelantado became an anachronism that did not fit the rapidly developing system of centralized administrative control. Under closer surveillance and more rigid regulation, colonial officials lost their wide powers and privileges. The governor of Florida was no exception. (Tepaske GSF)