animals survived to reproduce. Pedro Menéndez de Avilés again introduced cattle to Florida when he founded St. Augustine in 1565. For the rest of the sixteenth century cattle were periodically imported from Cuba and placed on islands along the coast near St. Augustine, but shortages of pasture and fresh water and, to some extent, excessive mosquito bites, killed them. Householders in St. Augustine each kept a few cows. A few hundred head of cattle were reported in the town in 1600. The failure to establish herds of cattle meant that 2,000 ducats worth of dried beef had to be imported from Havana yearly. Documentation about ranches in Spanish Florida is scarce, particularly in the first half of the 17th century. Arnade, writing in 1961, stated that there was no evidence of cattle ranching in Florida before 1657, and that cattle ranching in Florida began sometime between 1605 and 1655. It is now known that continuing herds were established in Florida starting in 1618, when governor Juan de Salinas began importing cattle from Cuba in sufficient numbers. Expanses of vacant land became available in Spanish Florida as natives in mission villages died in frequent epidemics, or left their villages to avoid the repartimiento, in which men from mission villages were required to work, without pay, for the Spanish. The Saltwater and Freshwater Timucua villages along the St. Johns River were largely empty by 1617, leaving unused land that could serve for cattle ranches. The earliest reference to a cattle ranch in Florida is for one in Potano Province, possibly dating to the mid-1620s, but Hann speculates that earlier ranches had been established closer to St. Augustine. Growth Luis Benedit y Horruytiner became governor of Florida in 1633. He encouraged criollos (people of European descent born in the Americas) in St. Augustine to move to the inland provinces to start farming and ranching, using the native population as laborers. Horruytiner made a significant number of grants of land during his term as governor that were probably used as ranches. Horruytiner stayed in Florida after his term as governor ended, and his family later owned several cattle ranches. A dozen of so criollo families holding administrative and military positions in St. Augustine obtained land grants. Construction of the Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine, which began in 1672, created an increased demand for food for the workers. Pablo de Hita y Salazar,