Nicolás Ponce II assumed the office of acting governor of Florida on November 2, 1663, ruling until December 30, 1664, and a second time from July 8, 1673 to May 3, 1675,[2] following the death of Manuel de Cendoya.
Construction proceeded at a slow pace because of engineering errors and sloppiness by the Spanish building supervisors, as well as the collapse of scaffolding and poorly built sections of the fort's walls.
Most of the work of building the structure was done by the forced labor of local Native Americans; disease caused by poor hygiene and overcrowding killed many of them.
[3] On October 2, 1672, Nicolás Ponce II, now Sergeant Major, was the senior crown-appointed military officer present when ground was officially broken for the foundation of a new Castillo de San Marcos, a masonry structure, to replace the inadequate wooden fort.
[4] In addition to Native Americans, Spanish and English prisoners (who were better treated) and fifty black slaves, including skilled craftsmen, worked on construction of the new fort, which was stopped because of several accidents and lack of the funds (the royal situado) supposed to be sent by the Crown from Mexico City.