The forthright Manuel de Montiano advocated several startling innovations to relieve the miserable lot of his Floridians. In 1744 he shocked the king and the Council of the Indies with the news that the Bishop of Puebla owed his colony 530,140 pesos. To repay this debt, Montiano suggested a unique scheme for debasing the currency. He asked that 132,523 pesos be minted in special coins solely for use in Florida. Their value in relation to Mexican specie was set at four to one; that is, the silver in one Mexican peso would make four Florida pesos. Montiano hoped, however, that in Saint Augustine the Florida peso would be equal in value to the Mexican peso. This scheme, he stated had definite advantages. The new coins would serve to confuse English merchants and make illicit trade difficult. Since he proposed that the money would have no value outside Florida, the new monetary plan would prevent the flight of hard money from the colony. It could also be used to pay off the bishop’s debt to Florida with only one-quarter of the amount actually owed. In Florida Montiano planned to use this money for the needy, construction of new buildings, repair of the defenses battered during the English siege of 1740, and debts to Cuban merchants. [Note: gov to king 2/8/1744] (Tepaske GSF)