The first settlement in North America that was home to free Africans was in Spanish Florida. in 1693, in order to weaken England's rule on the New World, the King of Spain declared that any slaves who escaped from the British colonies could find freedom if they declare their loyalty lies with Spain and they convert to Catholicism. Large numbers escaped and headed to Florida where they helped the Spanish build Castillo de San Marcos, a stone fortress. In 1738 Florida's governor set up a separate town just for free Africans. It was two miles north of St. Augustine named Fort Mose.