Jewel of the Sea — Susan Wiggs

A generation after Columbus made his great discovery, the tired old World is striving to conquer the new lands in the West, seeking gold and riches beyond their wildest dreams.

From Spain to England to the Caribbean, follow the fortunes of Armando, restless wanderer with an uncertain heritage: Gabriella, whose beauty hides the secret of her birth; Paloma, child of a Spanish grandee and an Indian wise-woman: and Will, master-musician who flees the Inquisition because of his Jewish blood.

Appalled by the cruelty of their countrymen, they seek to help the native peoples of the new lands, organizing the resistance to the Conquistadors in the land that will be called Florida.