The Minorcans of Florida (also spelled Menorcan) are an ethnically diverse group of people that settled in St. Augustine, Florida in the late 18th century. Land Grant The Treaty of Paris (1763) passed Florida from the hands of Spain to Great Britain. King George III issued the Royal Proclamation of 1763 to promote settlement of the newly acquired territory. Dr. Andrew Turnbull (colonist) and his partners, Sir William Duncan and Sir Richard Grenville, held the title to over 100,000 acres of land in the newly acquired territory. Turnbull started with a plan to relocate 500 Greeks to cultivate indigo on the 20,000 acres allocated to Grenville. He arrived at Mahón on Menorca in June of 1767, then traveled onward to Livorno (Leghorn), Italy to recruit more workers. Those that signed up were sent back to Menorca. In the meantime agents found Corsican Greeks willing to sign up as well. He did not have as much luck on mainland Greece, with only a little more than 200 signing on, but when Turnbull returned to Mahón in February he found that many of the Italian men had married Menorcan women, and approximately 1,000 Menorcans joined the project. On 17 April 1768 Turnbull left Menorca with eight ships carrying 1403 colonists. 148 died on the way to St. Augustine and the New Smyrna colony, before arriving at the new colony on Mosquito Inlet, 70 miles south of St. Augustine. Plantation & Privation The conditions on the plantation were harsh, exacerbated by a supply ship wrecking before reaching the colony. The colony itself was not cleared and consisted of mangrove swamps, which the workers had to drain and clear prior to erecting additional shelter, as Turnbull had only provisioned for 500 workers. Fear of local Native American tribes, as well as local wildlife such as alligators, kept the colonists from venturing far from the village where more food could be procured. The working & living conditions led to three hundred colonists seizing a ship and sailing south during the first years. They were captured by a British frigate and brought to St. Augustine. They were sent back to the colony, except for two who were executed. Workers who were seen as slacking were beaten, stockaded, or chained to heavy iron balls. Despite the privations experienced, the settlers were able to clear land, plant crops, and erect housing. The situation became more stable between 1771