Eligio de la Puente

[2] In the autumn of 1762, when St. Augustine was bereft of supplies during the war between England and Spain, part of the global conflict of the Seven Years' War, a ship's captain called Jesse Fish, a Scottish Catholic merchant from Charles Town called John Gordon, and de la Puente had smuggled provisions in from South Carolina to prevent the settlement from starving.

[4][2] De la Puente's actions as a land agent, however, were only a small part of his distinguished career of thirty years in military and civil service of the Crown.

His parents were Antonio Nicolás Eligio de la Puente, a native of Havana, Cuba, and Agustina Regidor, whose family had lived in St. Augustine for many years.

[8] When Florida was ceded to the British in 1763, almost the entire Spanish population of St. Augustine emigrated to Cuba and elsewhere in New Spain, being promised restitution, new grants of land and employment opportunities.

[15] Under these conditions and with the uncertainty of future sales, de la Puente was eventually compelled to transfer all the unsold Spanish property to an agent who would represent its owners.

[16] In 1747, when he was only twenty-three years old, Eliglo de la Puente conducted negotiations by the Spanish with the Muscogee Indians (Uchise or Uchize) of Florida,[7] and secured a lasting peace with them.

[17] After the outbreak of the American Revolution, Spain allowed the rebelling British colonies to outfit and repair their vessels and sell their prizes of war in Havana and in New Orleans.

Juan de Miralles y Trayllon, an outfitter of ships and a trader in contraband who spoke fluent English, served as an intermediary between the rebels and the Spanish authorities.

[2] When disputes arose between the various groups of the Native peoples of Florida, representatives of one or of both factions would try to get passage to Havana aboard any Cuban fishing vessel they encountered on the Gulf coast, to plead their case before Eligio, leaving it to him to determine what was the just course of action.