The Residencia: A Check on the Governor? Analysis of the residencia in 18th century Florida indicates that this practice was not a significant check on colonial officials. It was effective only in so far as the fear of an investigation at the close of his administration restrained the governor and kept him from abusing his office. Otherwise, it did not achieve its purpose since most governors managed to avoid the residencia entirely. Probably by a mutual agreement with their successors, eight of ten governors ignored the requirement and proceeded to their new assignments without facing a residencia. By the time authorities in Spain became aware of this laxity, it was usually too costly or too late to bother with a judicial review of an official who had long since departed the colony. Ultimately the king stepped in to force a residencia in only two cases, and for both there was a special explanation. In 1706 Philip V demanded a review of Zuniga’s administration in order to assert his royal prerogatives in the Empire. As the new Bourbon king of Spain, he was eager to impose his will on his colonial subjects and to demonstrate royal supremacy over his colonial dominions. In Moral’s situation, evidence of corruption and misrule was so overwhelming that the residencia could not have been ignored. It was absolutely necessary as part of the process of bringing the governor to justice. AN393 Still another reason for the ineffectiveness of the residencia as a check on the governor was that sentences imposed on those leaving office were never carried out. Those charged and sentenced in the Indies found the Council of the Indies in Spain more lenient than their peers in the New World and were exonerated by authorities in the mother country. Both Zuniga and Moral faced serious charges uncovered during their residencia AN394, yet both were absolved of all guilt once their files reached Spain. Surely colonial officials realized that even if they had to endure an onerous investigation of their administration, they would, in the end, avoid a severe rebuke or punishment by those who counted most—the king and his Council of the Indies. (Tepaske GSF)