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Economic Problems of the Governor
Source: The Governorship of Spanish Florida #122
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Ch. 4 Economic Problems of the Governor Many problems plagued the governor, but none were more perplexing than the economic plight of his settlement. As a poverty-stricken outpost on the northeastern fringe of New Spain, Florida maintained no mining, agricultural, or commercial enterprises and was wholly dependent upon outside aid for its existence. AN396 The remote province was an abysmal place where want, misery, and destitution characterized the lot of soldiers and their families. AN397 Securing money and supplies was the governor’s greatest single responsibility. No colonial question received closer attention. [Note: for the period 1700-1763 correspondence on economic matters far outweighed the documents on any other colonial question.] The Subsidy Sole means of support for Florida came from an annual subsidy (situado), paid before 1702 from the royal treasury in Mexico City. Each year the governor and his junta chose an agent (situadista) to go to New Spain to collect this subvention. In the viceregal capital this agent presented the governor’s certified statements of the needs of the colony and bargained with the viceroy’s representatives for the required specie and supplies. These goods were then carried overland by pack train to Vera Cruz and put on ships bound for Havana. From Cuba the money and supplies were transshipped to Saint Augustine, where the governor and his treasury officials distributed them among the garrison and its families. [Note: Cedula 3/8/1702] The number of soldiers, friars, and royal officials serving in Florida determined the amount of the yearly subsidy. …In theory the subsidy was adequate to maintain the colony, but in practice many evils occurred in its administration and distribution. The viceroy often delayed payment of the situado, sometimes for several consecutive years. Adapt at making excuses, the viceroy claimed either that he had no ships in Vera Cruz to carry the subsidy to Cuba or that he had no precise information on the exact number of soldiers serving in Saint Augustine, a figure necessary to determine the amount of the annual grant. Sometimes the viceroy stated that he simply could not raise the subsidy in Mexico. As a result, the viceroy came to ow a large debt to the Florida colony. (Tepaske GSF)
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