From Mose in Secondary Literature by Amy • “Originally colonized to prevent French settlement and to protect the rich mines of New Spain and the route of Spain’s laden galleons, Florida later served as a buffer against English and, ultimately, United States expansionism. Florida’s peninsular conformation provided Spain with ports on both the Atlantic and the Gulf coasts and proximity to key port cities in Cuba, Hispaniola and Mexico. It’s very geography, however, also made Florida attractive and vulnerable to competing European powers with Caribbean interests.” AN72