The Struggle for Colonial Rule in the Age of Imperial Rivalry: The Case of Colonial Florida, 1670-1686

Jennifer L. Baszile

The English settlement of Carolina in 1670 triggered a crisis in Florida. Colonial officials defined the existence of Carolina as the most pressing threat to Florida's survival. The intensification of Caribbean piracy and the fundamental shift in Spanish imperial policy contributed to Florida officials' sense of crisis. Decades of neglect and supply shortages significantly weakened the structural foundation of Spanish colonial rule in Florida. Fear of an English attack forced Spanish officials to improve colonial defenses and shore up the structural basis for colonial rule. Because they lacked consistent external support, Spanish officials enlisted the labor and resources of Florida Indians to improve colonial defenses. Most Florida Indians did not initially perceive the English arrival as a dire threat to their security. Indigenous leaders came to resent the increased Spanish demands on their communities. As a result, tensions developed between village and colonial leaders which weakened many longstanding Spanish-indigenous alliances, and led to the breakdown of the consensual basis for colonial rule. In an effort to expand their network of Indian allies, Spanish officials tried to evangelize the indigenous communities in the province of Apalachicola. The planning, implementation, and results of this initiative illustrate the difficulties of expanding and maintaining the consensual basis for colonial rule in this era.

[WP #97027]