Encomiendas were another matter. The New Laws of 1542-43 phasing them out for others forbade them altogether for officials of the treasury, who could not even marry a woman with encomiendas unless she renounced them. This created no hardship for the proprietors in St. Augustine. Although Pedro Menendez’s contract had contained tacit permission to grant encomiendas in accordance with the Populating Ordinances of 1563, they were out of the question in Florida—where the seasonally nomadic Indians long refused to settle themselves in towns for the Spanish convenience, and the chiefs expected to receive tribute, not pay it. Eventually the natives consented to a token tribute, which in time was converted to a rotating labor service out of which the officials helped themselves—but there was never an encomienda. (Bushnell KC)