After 1749 the pattern changed significantly, evidence that perhaps Bourbon efficiency was now permeating colonial administration. From 1749 to 1763 the governor of Florida served little more than the three or five years required under the law. At the same time the shift of administrative personnel from one place to another was more efficient. Only once was there an appreciable delay in putting a new governor in an office. Alonso Fernandez de Heredia, appointed to the governorship in 1751, took three years to get from Guatemala to Florida. When word of his appointment first reached Guatemala, he was in the jungles of Central American fighting Indians—no one knew exactly where. Then, when the news finally got to him, he was uncertain about leaving Central America. The king had already ordered him to head an expedition against the English in the Rio Tinto area; at the same time the captain general of Guatemala had urged him to undertake this venture and to ignore the cedula concerning the Florida governorship. Finally, after some correspondence, the king ordered the perplexed Fernandez to Saint Augustine. In this case the delay worked no hardship on the temporary governor, Fulgencio Garcia de Solis, who enjoyed his job immensely and hoped to become permanent governor. (Tepaske GSF)