Diego de Quiroga y Losada
| Diego de Quiroga y Losada | |
|---|---|
| 30th Governor of Florida | |
|
In office August 20, 1687 – September 21, 1693 |
|
| Preceded by | Pedro de Aranda y Avellaneda |
| Succeeded by | Laureano de Torres y Ayala |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Unknown |
| Died | Unknown |
| Profession | Governor of Florida |
| Religion | Catholic |
Diego de Quiroga y Losada was the acting Governor of Spanish Florida between 1687 and 1693. His administration was mainly concerned with building fortifications, including the Castillo de San Marcos, which was begun by his predecessors to defend La Florida against British and French attacks by land and water.
On August 20, 1687, Diego de Quiroga y Losada was appointed acting governor of Florida, and remained in that position until September 21, 1693. That same month, eleven escaped African slaves from the Province of Carolina, including an infant, arrived by boat at the Franciscan Mission of Santa María de Sena on present-day Amelia Island in Florida, seeking a better life. Soldiers garrisoned there sent word to St. Augustine, informing Quiroga of their arrival so that he could decide what to do with them. In October, the governor ordered the Africans brought to St. Augustine. Once they were in the presidio, he put the men to work on construction of the Castillo de San Marcos, and the two women became a part of his household. Quiroga assigned several Spanish families responsibility for assisting the priests in Christianizing them.
Later in 1687, Quiroga visited the Apalachee Province to assess the strategic situation there, and upon his return to St. Augustine, ordered Captain Primo de Rivera to build a Casa fuerte (blockhouse) on the Chattahoochee River to protect the province from British incursions. The location was chosen because of its nearness to the head town of the Apalachicola people. Quiroga sent one hundred Native Americans, many of them trained as carpenters, with Rivera to build the fort as quickly as possible. Quiroga ordered the construction of Fort Apalachicola without seeking the King's permission, "because English traders had begun to settle and conduct business with local Native American groups immediately north of Spanish missions".
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