Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 1596291133, Paperback)

This fascinating new book follows the story of more than twelve hundred settlers, the majority from the Mediterranean island of Minorca, who arrived on the eastern shore of Florida near St. Augustine in 1768 and founded the colony of New Smyrna. Drawing upon surviving documents and historical research, Kenneth H. Beeson Jr. describes the hardships faced by the colonists as they struggled to survive and prosper in the New World.

Despite the initial successes of the colony, political strife and inadequate financing steered the colonists into dire straits, eventually leading them to seek refuge in St. Augustine, where they were granted asylum in 1777. For more than two hundred years, the descendants of these surviving colonists have formed a resourceful and talented portion of St. Augustine’s population. From the six hundred plus that made the walk from New Smyrna, there are now over fifteen thousand descendants living in the St. Augustine area. Although Beeson’s research has been widely referenced by scholars and historians, this is the first time his work has been made available in book form. Fromajadas and Indigo has long been considered the first serious study of the Minorcan colonists and their history in St. Augustine.