The Governorship of Florida and Opportunities for Advancement With one exception all governors of Florida during the 18th century agreed that they served in a miserable, undesirable post. They were poorly paid, were irregularly supplied with the necessities of life, and enjoyed none of the prestige usually associated with their office. They were, in their own minds, unappreciated, abused time servers. Yet Saint Augustine was not an abysmal jumping-off place where the monarch sent his least efficient, most troublesome officers, nor was it a dead-end for Spanish colonial administrators. Service in Florida was rather a stepping stone to more alluring, more prestigious posts in other parts of the Indies. Perseverance in the governorship was usually rewarded by a promotion to a more attractive colonial office in an area where life and work were far more agreeable and satisfying. The record of gubernatorial advancement was impressive. Zuniga y Cerda left Florida to become the governor of Cartagena, a busy seaport on the north Colombian coast. Benavides survived his operation for appendicitis and the debilitating effects of pain from old wounds to become governor of Vera Cruz, the more important harbor in New Spain. [Note: Gov to king 5/6/1733] (Tepaske GSF)