Economic Problems of Florida Governors 1700-1763

Economic Problems of Florida Governors, 1700-1763
By John J. Tepaske

Part 3 of 4

In 1724, the able and beloved Governor Antonio de Benavides requested that the subsidy be sent by land instead of by sea. By maintaining a land route between New Spain and Florida, he hoped to eliminate the delays occasioned by the lack of ships in Vera Cruz. He envisaged a line of Spanish presidios on the Gulf Coast from Vera Cruz to Apalache.

Initially these forts would serve as a protection for the land route, but eventually they might open the way for a lucrative coastal trade. But to this farsighted proposal, the Council paid little heed.

In 1735 and again in 1736 Governor Moral advocated another reform, which a predecessor had already promulgated. Moral asked that the entire subsidy be remitted to Florida in hard money. This would then enable him to bargain for supplies more advantageously in Havana, Yucatan, or Vera Cruz. This, in turn, would destroy the monopoly of Puebla merchants, one cause of high prices.

On the surface, the proposal appeared sound, but Moral’s motives were less than noble. Under his rule Saint Augustine had become a center of illicit trade with the English, an almost unpardonable Spanish colonial offense. In 1736, one resident wrote that Englishmen walked the streets of Saint Augustine as if they were in London. A Cuban official stated that during his short sojourn in Florida, six English vessels had entered the harbor with supplies.

Thus, with extra specie from Puebla, Moral hoped to bargain for food, not with merchants in Havana or Campeche, but with English traders. The Council was aware of his actions, however, and refused Moral’s request. He was ultimately ousted in 1737 for deliberately flaunting royal strictures against such commerce.

Governor Manuel de Montiano, who succeeded to the governorship in 1737, advocated other innovations to cure the economic ills of Florida. In 1744 he shocked the king and the Council of the Indies with the news that the Bishop in Puebla owed his colony 530,140 pesos, a figure which aptly demonstrates the failure of the Puebla system to keep pace with the needs of the colony.

To eliminate this exorbitant debit, Montiano set forth an elaborate devaluation scheme. He asked that 132,523 pesos be minted in special coins solely for use in Florida. Their value in relation to Mexican specie would be four-to-one; that is, the silver in one Mexican peso would be contained in four Florida pesos.

While he admitted that the scheme would not work for the rest of the Empire, Montiano saw definite advantages for Florida. Not only would the new coins confuse English traders and make illicit trade difficult but also the new monetary system would prevent the flight of hard money from the colony since it had no value outside of Florida.

In a spirit of unbounded optimism, he pointed out that a large debt could be completely paid off by a quarter of the amount actually owing. In Florida he could use the money for the needy, the construction of new buildings and defense projects, and payment of debts to Cuban merchants. He did not, however, propose any price-fixing system.

The Council of the Indies took up Montiano’s proposal but agreed that a change in the intrinsic value of money was always a delicate point. Still, its members saw a chance to retire an outstanding debt by only a quarter of the amount due and the opportunity to eliminate illicit trade practices in Florida.

Upon the Council’s recommendation the king ordered the Viceroy of New Spain to mint 150,000 pesos and escudos to be worth 600,000 pesos in Florida. He also provided for an exchange of old and new money with merchants of the Royal Havana Company, which then had the responsibility of supplying the Florida garrison.

Again nothing resulted from these grandiose plans. There is no evidence that the viceroy minted the coins, which could have relieved the desperate economic plight of the Florida colony.

Two years after his proposal of the devaluation scheme, Montiano advocated another plan, which surely must have raised the royal eyebrows of the newly crowned Ferdinand VI.

Montiano argued that the plight of those serving under him could only be alleviated by free trade with English colonies in America. He was, of course, aware of the laws against such a trade, but in his opinion, the only salvation for Florida lay in such a plan.

Besides, it had certain very obvious advantages. Goods brought into Saint Augustine on English ships removed the risks and expenses involved when they were transported by Spanish vessels. Molded bread, wormy flour, spoiled corn, and rancid meat would be a thing of the past since he would be able to examine the goods to be purchased. In addition, English traders furnished supplies at lower prices than their Spanish counterparts. Twenty five pounds of English flour cost eleven reales while the same item cost sixteen reales in New Spain.

To circumvent the religious damage which might result from trade with English heretics, the governor suggested that all exchanges be made on Santa Anastasia Island across the river from Saint Augustine. In this way he could insure the residents of the town against contamination by Protestant sailors.

Montiano also indicated that quick discharge of English cargoes would eliminate all opportunities for intercourse between the two nations. The arguments were all on the side of the governor, but Ferdinand VI was not yet prepared to grant such a radical departure from traditional trade policy.

As a result, the Florida garrison still continued to receive costly and tainted supplies. Expedience had kept the garrison going since 1565, and the king and the Council were willing to continue this policy.

Continued tomorrow …