On the surface, Moral’s [economic] proposals appeared sound, but his motives were apparently less than noble. During his administration Saint Augustine had become the center of illicit trade. English traders from the Carolinas had begun to pour their goods onto the Florida market in 1735 and 1736 and to sell them to Spanish soldiers and their wives, all with the governor’s approval. During this period one resident observed that English merchants walked the streets of the Florida capital as if they were in London. [Note: don Philipe de Yturrieta to gov of Cuba 8/28/1736] (Tepaske GSF)