List of colonial governors of Florida
The colonial governors of Florida governed Florida during its colonial period. The first European known to arrive there was Juan Ponce de León in 1513, but the governorship did not begin until 1565, when Pedro Menéndez de Avilés founded St. Augustine and was declared Governor and Adelantado of Florida. This district was subordinated to the Viceroyalty of New Spain. In 1763, following the transfer of Florida to Britain, the territory was divided into West Florida and East Florida, with separate governors. This division was maintained when Spain resumed control of Florida in 1783, and continued as provincial divisions with the Spanish Constitution of 1812. The Spanish transferred control of Florida to the United States in 1821, and the organized, incorporated Florida Territory was established on March 30, 1822. This became the modern State of Florida on March 3, 1845.
French period, 1564–1565
| Name | Term | Notes |
| René Goulaine de Laudonnière | 1564 – 1565 | founder of Fort Caroline |
First Spanish period, 1565–1763
| Name | Term | Notes |
| Pedro Menéndez de Avilés | 1565 – 1574 | founder of St. Augustine and Adelantado of the first Florida government |
| Diego de Velasco | 1574 – 1576 | acting |
| Hernando de Miranda | 1576 | |
| Gutierre de Miranda | 1576 – 1577 | acting |
| Pedro Menéndez de Márquez and Rodrigo del Junco | 1577 – 1594 | beginning of the Timucua missionizations |
| Domingo Martínez de Avendaño | 1594 – 1595 | |
| Alonso de las Alas, Bartolomé de Argüelles, and Juan Menéndez Márquez | 1595 – 1597 | acting |
| Gonzalo Méndez de Canço | 1597 – 1603 | |
| Pedro de Ibarra | 1603 – 1610 | |
| Juan Fernández de Olivera | 1610 – 1612 | |
| Juan de Arraçola and Joseph de Olivera | 1612 – 1613 | acting |
| Juan Treviño de Guillamas | 1613 – 1618 | |
| Juan de Salinas | 1618 – 1624 | |
| Luis de Rojas y Borja | 1624 – 1630 | |
| Andrés Rodríguez de Villegas | 1630 – 1631 | |
| Nicolás Ponce de León and Eugenio de Espinosa | 1631 – 1633 | acting |
| Luis de Horruytiner | 1633 – 1638 | Apalachee missions established |
| Damián de Vega Castro y Pardo | 1639 – 1645 | |
| Benito Ruíz de Salazar Vallecilla | 1645 – 1646 | |
| Francisco Menéndez Márquez and Pedro Benedit Horruytiner | 1646 – 1648 | acting |
| Benito Ruíz de Salazar Vallecilla | 1648 – 1651 | |
| Nicolás Ponce de León | 1651 | acting |
| Pedro Horruytiner Benedit | 1651 – 1654 | acting |
| Diego de Rebolledo y Suárez de Aponte | 1654 – 1659 | |
| Alonso de Aránguiz y Cortés | 1659 – 1663 | |
| Nicolás Ponce de León II | 1663 – 1664 | acting |
| Francisco de la Guerra y de la Vega | 1664 – 1671 | |
| Manuel de Çendoya | 1671 – 1673 | |
| Nicolás Ponce de León II | 1673 – 1675 | acting |
| Pablo de Hita y Salazar | 1675 – 1680 | |
| Juan Márquez Cabrera | 1680 – 1687 | |
| Pedro de Aranda y Avellaneda | 1687 | acting |
| Diego de Quiroga y Losada | 1687 – 1693 | |
| Laureano de Torres y Ayala, Marquis of Casa Torres | 1693 – 1699 | later served as royal governor of Cuba |
| José de Zúñiga y la Cerda | 1699 – 1706 | later served as governor of Cartagena de Indias |
| Francisco de Córcoles y Martínez | 1706 – 1716 | |
| Pedro de Olivera y Fullana | 1716 | |
| Juan de Ayala y Escobar | 1716 – 1718 | acting |
| Antonio de Benavides | 1718 – 1734 | |
| Francisco del Moral y Sánchez | 1734 – 1737 | |
| Manuel Joseph de Justís | 1737 | acting |
| Manuel de Montiano | 1737 – 1749 | |
| Melchor de Navarrete | 1749 – 1752 | |
| Fulgencio García de Solís | 1752 – 1755 | acting |
| Alonso Fernández de Heredia | 1755 – 1758 | |
| Lucas Fernando de Palacio y Valenzuela | 1758 – 1761 | |
| Alonso de Cárdenas | 1761 – 1762 | acting |
| Melchor Feliú | 1762 – 1763 | oversaw migration of many Floridanos to Cuba |
British period, 1763–1784
East Florida
| Name | Term | Notes |
| John Hedges | 20 Jul 1763 – 30 Jul 1763 | capital at St. Augustine |
| Francis Ogilvie | 30 Jul 1763 – 29 Aug 1764 | acting governor |
| James Grant | 29 Aug 1764 – 9 May 1771 | |
| John Moultrie | 9 May 1771 – 1 Mar 1774 | |
| Patrick Tonyn | 1 Mar 1774 – 12 Jul 1784 |