There were other signs of an economic awakening as well. In the 1750s production of naval stores on a large scale seemed a very real possibility, and many Floridians saw tar, pitch, resin, masts, and spars as the economic salvation of the colony. AN362 For all of his notoriety Governor Moral had taken the initial steps to establish the industry. In 1735 he had provided the stimulus for the production of enough pitch, tar, spars, and masts for use by Cuban shipbuilders. After his departure in 1737, however, little was done to continue the experiment until 1744… (Tepaske GSF)