The Spanish had high expectations of Florida despite the disastrous results of expeditions such as that of Ponce de Leon and Lucas Vazquez de Ayllon. In a description of the panhandle region of Hernando de Soto's countryside, Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo wrote: "The province of Apalache is very fertile and abundantly supplied with much corn, beans, pumpkins, various fruits, much game, many varieties of birds and excellent fishing near the sea.” Despite the environmental benefits, the Spanish ultimately failed to establish a plantation economy in Florida. Both the English and the proto-Seminoles achieved greater success in establishing a plantation economy after the failure of the Spanish success of the proto-Seminoles and the English in Florida, including population growth, choice economy, and African presence in Florida The English were enormously successful in populating Florida in the late 18th century of Florida was instrumental in recruiting British settlements in Florida. "Most publications describing Florida during the colonial era originated in England." At that time, Florida was described in oral and written accounts as an exotic region whose natural environment would undoubtedly benefit the British Empire. Such depictions were used as a kind of propaganda. William Bartram (1739-1823) provides an example. William Bartram was a natural historian and artist who kept detailed accounts of his travels in Florida before being interrupted by the American Revolution. His manuscript, published in 1791, contained adventurous accounts of his experiences in Florida that would seem like science fiction at the time. In the chapter...... at the center of the article......ial Plantations and Economy in Florida ed. Jane Landers (Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2000). 136-149.William Bartram, Travels Across the North (University of North Carolina: Apex Data Services, Inc., 2001), 119-30, http://docsouth.unc.edu/nc/bartram/bartram.html. Daniel Murphree, “Perpetuating a Mythical Paradise: Transnational Visions of Colonial Floridas,” TerraeIncognitae 37 (January 2005): 41. Andrew Frank, “Taking the State Out: Seminoles and Creeks in Late Eighteenth-Century Florida,” The Florida Historical Quartley 84 (Summer 2005): 27-10Patricia Griffin, "Blue Gold." Colonial Plantations and the Economy in Florida ed. Jane Landers (Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2000). 39-68. Daniel Murphree, “Perpetuating a Mythical Paradise: Transnational Visions of Colonial Floridas,” Terrae Incognitae 37 (January. 2005): 41-52.