Ajacan
Encyclopedia
Ajacán in the province of Axacan, variants include Xacan, Jacan, Iacan, Axaca, Axacam; was located on the Chesapeake Bay
, in present day Virginia
, United States
. In his 1842 Historia de la Compania de Fesus en Nueva Espana, Alegre said Father Juan Bautista de Segura and his companions called the province Axacan.
Some early 20th-century historians promoted the idea that the early Spanish explorers who made voyages into the Chesapeake Bay between 1565 and 1570 sailed up the Potomac River
as far as Occoquan, Virginia
, based on the similarity between "Axacan" of the Spanish missionary chronicles and the name of the Indian town and creek on the Potomac. The chronicles describe the failed Axacan mission in 1570, which included abandonment by their guide, and massacre of the party.
's failed colony of 1526-27, San Miguel de Gualdape
, had been located on the James River
somewhere near Jamestown
. While some historians accepted Ecija's claim, more recent scholars believe Ayllon instead went southwest, and that the "River Guandalpe" was in Georgia
.
Esteban Gomez
named the Chesapeake Bay, "Immaculate Conception Bay", on his 1525 expedition. No record of the Spanish reaching a place called Axacan was made until 1559-60, the year Sacchini says Dominican
missionaries took the Indian they named Don Luis
from there. Don Luis was recorded in Viceroyalty of New Spain-Mexico
in 1565.
In 1561, Pedro Menéndez de Avilés
believed there might be passage west of the also held the belief of a passage by way of the tributaries flowing east from the Allegheny Mountain
's gaps and the rivers flowing west on the other side to the Pacific, as told them by the Native Americans
at the range of Axacan.
Vincente Gonzales described a bay he visited in 1588 where natives told him of an English settlement to the north on a river flowing into it, but did not give a name to the bay. However, Juan Menendez Marques in 1606 asserted that this expedition had been to the Bay of Jacan, and Lowery (1905) also thought the Chesapeake was meant. It is unknown how far beyond the James River (Virginia)
the Spanish explored. Several historians have demonstrated documentation that they did sail up to at least that river's "fall line
".
. Virginia was not called thus at this time, before Sir Walter Raleigh and the "Virgin Queen
".
The Chesapeake Bay was called "Bahia de Santa Maria" after the time of Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón. Axacan had been called "Land of The Saints" earlier. The Spanish considered this land to be in their domain. Later, Avilés apparently thought the Portuguese
were in the vicinity of the mountains eighty leagues (~240 miles) to the north of the Chesapeake Bay and not a great distance from the channel connecting the bay from the "South Sea", Gulf of Mexico
.
Greater Axacan and adjoining Allegheny Mountains's western slopes, Mocosa, to Ajacal (Avacal) was thought to have rivers connecting to the south and west seas at that time. It was due to what the Spanish viewed as trespassing that had brought about the order for the Monks to support the Virginia
mining efforts. Hernando Boyano and Juan Pardo
prospected through the Cherokee
range in 1566-67 and barely sufficient reports suggest mining continued into the 1690s along the Appalachian Mountain Range. These had routed by land. The explorers
had discovered the curiosity of interior oil springs, copper outcrops, iron ore and coal for forging. All of which were located towards the Allegheny Mountains
and Unaka Range
also in the province of Axacan and the northern areas of "La Floridia" as spelt on 16th century Spanish maps. North of "The Florida" at today's Virginia was called "Land of Don Luis" by later half 16th century Spanish
.
Dominican
Friar
s
Paquiquino the Virginia Indian of provincial Axacan was a brother to a chief in the lower Chesapeake Bay area. He's Spanish given name was Don Luis. He was reported to be from Chiskiak town on the York River
. In 1559 or 1560, a Spanish vessel, perhaps, with some Dominican monks caused Paquiquino to go with them to Mexico as a guide where Aviles meets Paquiquino and thought to have learnt of the Axacan passage. Historians generally believe it was Juan Menendez Marques who picked up Don Luis and left another Spanish boy with one of Luis' brothers the chief, a hostage in exchange. The Viceroy
of New Spain had Paquiquino baptised with the name Don Luis de Velasco (Lowery 1905). Ángel de Villafañe
had been in the Chesapeake Bay area in 1561. He reported the chief at the Chesapeake Indians was called Regulus according to Francisco Sacchini. At San Mateo
, Avilés sent a Captain with 32 soldiers and two Dominican friars to settle the believed route to the mountain pass and rivers that was thought to lead to the Pacific Ocean. This was supposed to have returned Luis to his Chesapeake home and develop a colony at Ajacán landing. But no, the two friars who had already worked in South America and the military Captain convinced the pilot to navigate back to Europe claiming bad weather for the deviation. Some accounts declare they actually made land-fall, but, were blown off point as they tried to enter the bay. This is how Luis had arrived at Seville, Spain instead of returning to the "Bay of Santa Maria". Gone for about eleven years, Don Luis had spent the past six years with Aviles. They had returned to winter at Havanna by 1570. But, now the concern was about trespassers on his Pacific Ocean passage theory to the China Spice Trade. Meanwhile, it would seem that Luis harboured resentment through the years, although, the reports declare he was eager to help evangelize his kindred.
Ajacán landing included Father Segura, vice provincial of the Jesuits with seven companions, Father Luis de Quiros, Brothers Gabriel Gomez, Sancho Cevallos, Juan Bautista Mendez, Pedro de Limares, Gabriel de Solis (related to Aviles), and Cristobal Relondo, a boy named Alonso, and Indian Don Luis departed Santa Elena, just north of St. Augustine (now Parris Island
), for the Chesapeake Bay on August 5, 1570. They had arrive at Ajacán landing on September 10, 1570. They found the local people had removed themselves from the Ajacán landing area villages due to extended drought of six years. It was reported that only a few old men remained so "that they might die where their fathers had died." Indian crops there at that time was scarce and corn was brought to them. In a brief letter before the ship left the missionaries, Father Quiros wrote of the Allegheny Mountains as told him by the native, of "the entrance through the mountains and China...Three or four days journey from yonder, were the mountains, and two of these days' journey were by a river, and one or two days' travel beyond the mountains another sea is observed." Aviles of Spain maintain his theory that the passage to the Pacific was by way of the Chesapeake Bay.
The mission called Segura Mission consisted of a hut and small chapel about two leagues, two hours canoe trip up the river of their landing, to Don Luis's brother's village. Don Luis remained with the priests as an interpreter. An expected supply vessel had not returned before winter after which Luis deserted the Monks. Within four months, Luis left the missionaries to forage on their own through the winter. Father Rogal wrote of Avales' vengeance on Luis' party who committed the murders on February 8, 1571. Don Luis's brother saved the boy named Alonso from the betrayal, the only survivor. Avales' is reported not to have punished Luis' brother's village. Father Carrera wrote of the punitive action in 1572 as he had witnessed the Ajacán landing of the delayed supply vessel.
for the Spanish Crown spent thirty-seven days repairing their ships at the Chesapeake Bay. About the same time, John Cabot
also entered the bay. On May 30, Captain Vicente Gonzalez sailed around the shores of the Chesapeake to the 39th latitude (Annapolis, Maryland) and on the return at the 37th latitude near the mouth of James River. He found and returned evidence to St. Augustine of English there in 1588. Governor of Florida, Menendez Marques, sailed to the 38th latitude near today's Virginia and Maryland border in 1589. He found Vicente the Indian who claimed he was evangelized at the Segura Mission of Ajacán. Marques allowed him to return to the Florida capital with him. This was after the forming of the Iberian Union
.
priests built the Ajacán Mission
across the peninsula to the York River (Virginia)
despite two earlier intentions. Historians attribute Spanish abandonment of the Chesapeake Bay to either the Powhatan
Confederacy or privateer
s. Poorly documented seafaring nationals were known to fish and trade at Norfolk Anchorage. Later in the 16th century, many pilots, as the ship's master (today's Captain) was called at that time, held English and French
letters of marque
to raid the Spanish treasure fleet
. English privateers had been sailing to the North American coast since 1562, preying on Spanish shipping loaded with royal loot from the Spanish Main
. Their provision and repair anchorage was often at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. This is where the easterly North Atlantic current, just north of the Sargasso Sea
moves towards the Celtic Sea
of Ireland and Bay of Biscay
of northern Spain and Portugal. Father Segura's Ajacán settlement was destroyed by the Native American
Don Luis and his group of deceit, "Indians". England's Jamestown Settlement
became known to the Spanish at St. Augustine in 1610. These English took the Spanish captive, who were sent by caravella to investigate, in 1611. Although many nationals came to repair or clean their ships' hauls, reprovision and trade or prospect for many decades before, it remains unclear as to who removed the Spanish presence across the mining region of Axacan before the English first permanent colony at Jamestown
.
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
, in present day Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. In his 1842 Historia de la Compania de Fesus en Nueva Espana, Alegre said Father Juan Bautista de Segura and his companions called the province Axacan.
Some early 20th-century historians promoted the idea that the early Spanish explorers who made voyages into the Chesapeake Bay between 1565 and 1570 sailed up the Potomac River
Potomac River
The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...
as far as Occoquan, Virginia
Occoquan, Virginia
Occoquan is a town in Prince William County in the U.S. state of Virginia. The population was 759 at the 2000 census, but as of the census of 2010, there were 934 people residing in the town of Occoquan. The town is a suburb of Washington, D.C. and is adjacent to Woodbridge...
, based on the similarity between "Axacan" of the Spanish missionary chronicles and the name of the Indian town and creek on the Potomac. The chronicles describe the failed Axacan mission in 1570, which included abandonment by their guide, and massacre of the party.
Spanish explorers
Ecija, chief pilot of Spaniards searching the Chesapeake Bay for English activities in 1609, asserted that Lucas Vásquez de AyllónLucas Vásquez de Ayllón
Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón was a Spanish explorer who in 1526 established the short-lived San Miguel de Gualdape colony, the first European attempt at a settlement in what is now the continental United States...
's failed colony of 1526-27, San Miguel de Gualdape
San Miguel de Gualdape
San Miguel de Gualdape was the first European settlement inside what is now United States territory, founded by Spaniard Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón in 1526. It was to last only three months of winter before being abandoned in early 1527....
, had been located on the James River
James River
The James River may refer to:Rivers in the United States and their namesakes* James River * James River , North Dakota, South Dakota* James River * James River * James River...
somewhere near Jamestown
Jamestown
-Saint Kitts and Nevis:*Jamestown, the name of a former town on the edge of Morton Bay on Nevis in the late 17th century-United Kingdom:*Jamestown, Rossshire, Scotland*Jamestown, West Dunbartonshire, Scotland*Jamestown, Fife, Scotland...
. While some historians accepted Ecija's claim, more recent scholars believe Ayllon instead went southwest, and that the "River Guandalpe" was in Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
.
Esteban Gomez
Esteban Gómez
Esteban Gómez, also known as Estevan Gómez, and born Estêvão Gomes, , was a Portuguese cartographer and explorer. He sailed at the service of Spain in the fleet of Ferdinand Magellan, but deserted the expedition before reaching the Strait of Magellan, and returned to Spain in May 1521...
named the Chesapeake Bay, "Immaculate Conception Bay", on his 1525 expedition. No record of the Spanish reaching a place called Axacan was made until 1559-60, the year Sacchini says Dominican
Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
missionaries took the Indian they named Don Luis
Don Luis
Don Luís , also known as Paquiquino, was a Native American from Tidewater Virginia who in 1561 traveled to Spain, was baptized in Mexico, and in 1571 returned as a missionary to Virginia, where he apparently participated in the killing of the Jesuits who had accompanied him.Some historians, among...
from there. Don Luis was recorded in Viceroyalty of New Spain-Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
in 1565.
In 1561, Pedro Menéndez de Avilés
Pedro Menéndez de Avilés
Pedro Menéndez de Avilés was a Spanish admiral and explorer, best remembered for founding St. Augustine, Florida in 1565. This was the first successful Spanish foothold in La Florida and remained the most significant city in the region for several hundred years. St...
believed there might be passage west of the also held the belief of a passage by way of the tributaries flowing east from the Allegheny Mountain
Allegheny Mountain
Allegheny Mountain may refer to:* The Allegheny Mountains range in the eastern United States** Mountains within the range, including:***Allegheny Mountain — or "Alleghany" — demarcating much of the border between the two states...
's gaps and the rivers flowing west on the other side to the Pacific, as told them by the Native Americans
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
at the range of Axacan.
Vincente Gonzales described a bay he visited in 1588 where natives told him of an English settlement to the north on a river flowing into it, but did not give a name to the bay. However, Juan Menendez Marques in 1606 asserted that this expedition had been to the Bay of Jacan, and Lowery (1905) also thought the Chesapeake was meant. It is unknown how far beyond the James River (Virginia)
James River (Virginia)
The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia. It is long, extending to if one includes the Jackson River, the longer of its two source tributaries. The James River drains a catchment comprising . The watershed includes about 4% open water and an area with a population of 2.5 million...
the Spanish explored. Several historians have demonstrated documentation that they did sail up to at least that river's "fall line
Fall line
A fall line is a geomorphologic unconformity between an upland region of relatively hard crystalline basement rock and a coastal plain of softer sedimentary rock. A fall line is typically prominent when crossed by a river, for there will often be rapids or waterfalls...
".
Province of Axacan
The Chesapeake Bay was in the Province of Axacan which included the Allegheny MountainsAllegheny Mountains
The Allegheny Mountain Range , also spelled Alleghany, Allegany and, informally, the Alleghenies, is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the eastern United States and Canada...
. Virginia was not called thus at this time, before Sir Walter Raleigh and the "Virgin Queen
Virgin queen
*In beekeeping, a virgin queen is a queen bee that has not yet mated with a drone.*Elizabeth I of England was also called the Virgin Queen....
".
The Chesapeake Bay was called "Bahia de Santa Maria" after the time of Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón. Axacan had been called "Land of The Saints" earlier. The Spanish considered this land to be in their domain. Later, Avilés apparently thought the Portuguese
Portuguese people
The Portuguese are a nation and ethnic group native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe. Their language is Portuguese, and Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion....
were in the vicinity of the mountains eighty leagues (~240 miles) to the north of the Chesapeake Bay and not a great distance from the channel connecting the bay from the "South Sea", Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
.
Greater Axacan and adjoining Allegheny Mountains's western slopes, Mocosa, to Ajacal (Avacal) was thought to have rivers connecting to the south and west seas at that time. It was due to what the Spanish viewed as trespassing that had brought about the order for the Monks to support the Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
mining efforts. Hernando Boyano and Juan Pardo
Juan Pardo (explorer)
Juan Pardo was a Spanish explorer and conquistador who was active in the later half of the sixteenth century. He led a Spanish expedition through what is now North and South Carolina and into eastern Tennessee. He established Fort San Felipe, South Carolina , and the village of Santa Elena on...
prospected through the Cherokee
Cherokee
The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...
range in 1566-67 and barely sufficient reports suggest mining continued into the 1690s along the Appalachian Mountain Range. These had routed by land. The explorers
Exploration
Exploration is the act of searching or traveling around a terrain for the purpose of discovery of resources or information. Exploration occurs in all non-sessile animal species, including humans...
had discovered the curiosity of interior oil springs, copper outcrops, iron ore and coal for forging. All of which were located towards the Allegheny Mountains
Allegheny Mountains
The Allegheny Mountain Range , also spelled Alleghany, Allegany and, informally, the Alleghenies, is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the eastern United States and Canada...
and Unaka Range
Unaka Range
The Unaka Range is a mountain range on the border of Tennessee and North Carolina, in the southeastern United States. It is a subrange of the Appalachian Mountains and is part of the Blue Ridge Mountains physiographic province. The Unakas stretch approximately from the Nolichucky River to the...
also in the province of Axacan and the northern areas of "La Floridia" as spelt on 16th century Spanish maps. North of "The Florida" at today's Virginia was called "Land of Don Luis" by later half 16th century Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
.
Dominican
Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
Friar
Friar
A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders.-Friars and monks:...
s
Paquiquino the Virginia Indian of provincial Axacan was a brother to a chief in the lower Chesapeake Bay area. He's Spanish given name was Don Luis. He was reported to be from Chiskiak town on the York River
York River (Virginia)
The York River is a navigable estuary, approximately long, in eastern Virginia in the United States. It ranges in width from at its head to near its mouth on the west side of Chesapeake Bay. Its watershed drains an area including portions of 17 counties of the coastal plain of Virginia north...
. In 1559 or 1560, a Spanish vessel, perhaps, with some Dominican monks caused Paquiquino to go with them to Mexico as a guide where Aviles meets Paquiquino and thought to have learnt of the Axacan passage. Historians generally believe it was Juan Menendez Marques who picked up Don Luis and left another Spanish boy with one of Luis' brothers the chief, a hostage in exchange. The Viceroy
Viceroy
A viceroy is a royal official who runs a country, colony, or province in the name of and as representative of the monarch. The term derives from the Latin prefix vice-, meaning "in the place of" and the French word roi, meaning king. A viceroy's province or larger territory is called a viceroyalty...
of New Spain had Paquiquino baptised with the name Don Luis de Velasco (Lowery 1905). Ángel de Villafañe
Ángel de Villafañe
Ángel de Villafañe was the Spanish conquistador of Florida, Mexico, and Guatemala, and was an explorer, expedition leader, and ship captain , who worked with many 16th-century settlements and shipwrecks along the Gulf of Mexico.- Life and work :Ángel de Villafañe was born about 1504, as the son of...
had been in the Chesapeake Bay area in 1561. He reported the chief at the Chesapeake Indians was called Regulus according to Francisco Sacchini. At San Mateo
San Mateo
San Mateo, Spanish for Saint Matthew, is the name of several places:*San Mateo , Spain- Canary Islands :* Vega de San Mateo, Las Palmas, a municipality on the island of Gran Canaria in the province of Las Palmas- Costa Rica :...
, Avilés sent a Captain with 32 soldiers and two Dominican friars to settle the believed route to the mountain pass and rivers that was thought to lead to the Pacific Ocean. This was supposed to have returned Luis to his Chesapeake home and develop a colony at Ajacán landing. But no, the two friars who had already worked in South America and the military Captain convinced the pilot to navigate back to Europe claiming bad weather for the deviation. Some accounts declare they actually made land-fall, but, were blown off point as they tried to enter the bay. This is how Luis had arrived at Seville, Spain instead of returning to the "Bay of Santa Maria". Gone for about eleven years, Don Luis had spent the past six years with Aviles. They had returned to winter at Havanna by 1570. But, now the concern was about trespassers on his Pacific Ocean passage theory to the China Spice Trade. Meanwhile, it would seem that Luis harboured resentment through the years, although, the reports declare he was eager to help evangelize his kindred.
Segura Mission
Segura Mission 1570Ajacán landing included Father Segura, vice provincial of the Jesuits with seven companions, Father Luis de Quiros, Brothers Gabriel Gomez, Sancho Cevallos, Juan Bautista Mendez, Pedro de Limares, Gabriel de Solis (related to Aviles), and Cristobal Relondo, a boy named Alonso, and Indian Don Luis departed Santa Elena, just north of St. Augustine (now Parris Island
Parris Island, South Carolina
Parris Island is a former census-designated place , currently a portion of Port Royal in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 4,841 at the 2000 census. As defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, Parris Island is included within the Beaufort Urban Cluster and the larger...
), for the Chesapeake Bay on August 5, 1570. They had arrive at Ajacán landing on September 10, 1570. They found the local people had removed themselves from the Ajacán landing area villages due to extended drought of six years. It was reported that only a few old men remained so "that they might die where their fathers had died." Indian crops there at that time was scarce and corn was brought to them. In a brief letter before the ship left the missionaries, Father Quiros wrote of the Allegheny Mountains as told him by the native, of "the entrance through the mountains and China...Three or four days journey from yonder, were the mountains, and two of these days' journey were by a river, and one or two days' travel beyond the mountains another sea is observed." Aviles of Spain maintain his theory that the passage to the Pacific was by way of the Chesapeake Bay.
The mission called Segura Mission consisted of a hut and small chapel about two leagues, two hours canoe trip up the river of their landing, to Don Luis's brother's village. Don Luis remained with the priests as an interpreter. An expected supply vessel had not returned before winter after which Luis deserted the Monks. Within four months, Luis left the missionaries to forage on their own through the winter. Father Rogal wrote of Avales' vengeance on Luis' party who committed the murders on February 8, 1571. Don Luis's brother saved the boy named Alonso from the betrayal, the only survivor. Avales' is reported not to have punished Luis' brother's village. Father Carrera wrote of the punitive action in 1572 as he had witnessed the Ajacán landing of the delayed supply vessel.
Other visitors
In 1499, Amerigo VespucciAmerigo Vespucci
Amerigo Vespucci was an Italian explorer, financier, navigator and cartographer. The Americas are generally believed to have derived their name from the feminized Latin version of his first name.-Expeditions:...
for the Spanish Crown spent thirty-seven days repairing their ships at the Chesapeake Bay. About the same time, John Cabot
John Cabot
John Cabot was an Italian navigator and explorer whose 1497 discovery of parts of North America is commonly held to have been the first European encounter with the continent of North America since the Norse Vikings in the eleventh century...
also entered the bay. On May 30, Captain Vicente Gonzalez sailed around the shores of the Chesapeake to the 39th latitude (Annapolis, Maryland) and on the return at the 37th latitude near the mouth of James River. He found and returned evidence to St. Augustine of English there in 1588. Governor of Florida, Menendez Marques, sailed to the 38th latitude near today's Virginia and Maryland border in 1589. He found Vicente the Indian who claimed he was evangelized at the Segura Mission of Ajacán. Marques allowed him to return to the Florida capital with him. This was after the forming of the Iberian Union
Iberian Union
The Iberian union was a political unit that governed all of the Iberian Peninsula south of the Pyrenees from 1580–1640, through a dynastic union between the monarchies of Portugal and Spain after the War of the Portuguese Succession...
.
Ajacán Mission
The FloridaFlorida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
priests built the Ajacán Mission
Ajacàn Mission
The Ajacán Mission was a failed attempt in 1570 to establish a Jesuit mission on the Virginia Peninsula. They intended to bring Christianity to the Virginia Indians. The effort to found what was to be called St...
across the peninsula to the York River (Virginia)
York River (Virginia)
The York River is a navigable estuary, approximately long, in eastern Virginia in the United States. It ranges in width from at its head to near its mouth on the west side of Chesapeake Bay. Its watershed drains an area including portions of 17 counties of the coastal plain of Virginia north...
despite two earlier intentions. Historians attribute Spanish abandonment of the Chesapeake Bay to either the Powhatan
Powhatan
The Powhatan is the name of a Virginia Indian confederation of tribes. It is estimated that there were about 14,000–21,000 of these native Powhatan people in eastern Virginia when the English settled Jamestown in 1607...
Confederacy or privateer
Privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...
s. Poorly documented seafaring nationals were known to fish and trade at Norfolk Anchorage. Later in the 16th century, many pilots, as the ship's master (today's Captain) was called at that time, held English and French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
letters of marque
Letter of marque
In the days of fighting sail, a Letter of Marque and Reprisal was a government licence authorizing a person to attack and capture enemy vessels, and bring them before admiralty courts for condemnation and sale...
to raid the Spanish treasure fleet
Spanish treasure fleet
The Spanish treasure fleets was a convoy system adopted by the Spanish Empire from 1566 to 1790...
. English privateers had been sailing to the North American coast since 1562, preying on Spanish shipping loaded with royal loot from the Spanish Main
Spanish Main
In the days of the Spanish New World Empire, the mainland of the American continent enclosing the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico was referred to as the Spanish Main. It included present-day Florida, the east shore of the Gulf of Mexico in Texas, Mexico, Central America and the north coast of...
. Their provision and repair anchorage was often at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. This is where the easterly North Atlantic current, just north of the Sargasso Sea
Sargasso Sea
The Sargasso Sea is a region in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by ocean currents. It is bounded on the west by the Gulf Stream; on the north, by the North Atlantic Current; on the east, by the Canary Current; and on the south, by the North Atlantic Equatorial Current. This...
moves towards the Celtic Sea
Celtic Sea
The Celtic Sea is the area of the Atlantic Ocean off the south coast of Ireland bounded to the east by Saint George's Channel; other limits include the Bristol Channel, the English Channel, and the Bay of Biscay, as well as adjacent portions of Wales, Cornwall, Devon, and Brittany...
of Ireland and Bay of Biscay
Bay of Biscay
The Bay of Biscay is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Brest south to the Spanish border, and the northern coast of Spain west to Cape Ortegal, and is named in English after the province of Biscay, in the Spanish...
of northern Spain and Portugal. Father Segura's Ajacán settlement was destroyed by the Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
Don Luis and his group of deceit, "Indians". England's Jamestown Settlement
Jamestown Settlement
Jamestown Settlement is a name used by the Commonwealth of Virginia's portion of the historical sites and museums at Jamestown. Jamestown was the first successful English settlement on the mainland of North America...
became known to the Spanish at St. Augustine in 1610. These English took the Spanish captive, who were sent by caravella to investigate, in 1611. Although many nationals came to repair or clean their ships' hauls, reprovision and trade or prospect for many decades before, it remains unclear as to who removed the Spanish presence across the mining region of Axacan before the English first permanent colony at Jamestown
Jamestown, Virginia
Jamestown was a settlement in the Colony of Virginia. Established by the Virginia Company of London as "James Fort" on May 14, 1607 , it was the first permanent English settlement in what is now the United States, following several earlier failed attempts, including the Lost Colony of Roanoke...
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See also
- Ajacán MissionAjacàn MissionThe Ajacán Mission was a failed attempt in 1570 to establish a Jesuit mission on the Virginia Peninsula. They intended to bring Christianity to the Virginia Indians. The effort to found what was to be called St...
- Don LuisDon LuisDon Luís , also known as Paquiquino, was a Native American from Tidewater Virginia who in 1561 traveled to Spain, was baptized in Mexico, and in 1571 returned as a missionary to Virginia, where he apparently participated in the killing of the Jesuits who had accompanied him.Some historians, among...
- Juan Pardo (explorer)Juan Pardo (explorer)Juan Pardo was a Spanish explorer and conquistador who was active in the later half of the sixteenth century. He led a Spanish expedition through what is now North and South Carolina and into eastern Tennessee. He established Fort San Felipe, South Carolina , and the village of Santa Elena on...
- Spanish colonization of the AmericasSpanish colonization of the AmericasColonial expansion under the Spanish Empire was initiated by the Spanish conquistadores and developed by the Monarchy of Spain through its administrators and missionaries. The motivations for colonial expansion were trade and the spread of the Christian faith through indigenous conversions...
- European colonization of the AmericasEuropean colonization of the AmericasThe start of the European colonization of the Americas is typically dated to 1492. The first Europeans to reach the Americas were the Vikings during the 11th century, who established several colonies in Greenland and one short-lived settlement in present day Newfoundland...
- Roman Catholic Church and colonialism
- Maritime historyMaritime historyMaritime history is the study of human activity at sea. It covers a broad thematic element of history that often uses a global approach, although national and regional histories remain predominant...