Alonzo Álvarez de Pineda (1494 - 1520) was a Spanish explorer and cartographer. His map marks the first document in Texas history.

[edit] Expedition

The Spanish believe there must be a sea lane from the Gulf of Mexico to Asia. In 1517 and 1518, Alonzo Alvarez de Pineda had led several expeditions to map the western coastlines of the Gulf of Mexico, from the Yucatan Peninsula to Rio Panuco, just north of Veracruz. Ponce de Leon had previously mapped parts of Florida, which he believed to be an island. Alaminos's expedition eliminated the western areas as being the site of the passage, leaving the land between the Rio Panuco and Florida to be mapped.^[1]

Alaminos persuaded the governor of Jamaica, Francisco de Garay, to finance an expedition to search the remainder of the Gulf. Garay outfitted four ships and placed them under the command of Alvarez de Pineda. He left Jamaica in early 1519 and sailed west to follow the northern coastline of the Gulf.^[1] At the western tip of Southern Florida, he attempted to sail east, but the winds were uncooperative. Instead, Alvarez de Pineda sailed west from the Florida Keys to hug the Gulf Coast.^[2]

Pineda's map of the Gulf Coast

On June 2, 1519, he became the first European to see the Mississippi River, which he named the Espíritu Santo.^[2] Alvarez de Pineda continued his journey westward. There is no reliable evidence that he ever disembarked on the shores of Texas, but he anchored off of Villa Rice de la Veracruz shortly after Hernán Cortés had departed.^[2] Cortés returned on hearing of Alvarez de Pineda's arrival. Alvarez de Pineda wished to establish a boundary between the lands he was claiming for Garay and those that Cortés had already claimed; Cortés was unwilling to bargain, and Alvarez de Pineda left to retrace his route northward.^[3] Shortly thereafter, he sailed up a river he named Las Palmas, where he spent over 40 days repairing his ships. The Las Palmas was most likely the Rio Grande.^[1]

The expedition established the remainder of the boundaries of the Gulf of Mexico, while disproving the idea of a sea passage to Asia. It also verified that Florida was a peninsula instead of an island, and allowed Alvarez de Pineda to be the first European to see the coastal areas of western Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas, lands he called "Amichel."^[1] His map is the first known document of Texas history and was the first map of the Gulf Coast region of the United States.^[4]

[edit] Death

After the repairs were made, the ships returned to Jamaica, presenting Garay with a map of the entire Gulf Coast "in more or less accurate proportions."^[5] Historian Robert Weddle believes that Alvarez de Pineda and many of his crew remained behind as settlers. In January 1520, Diego de Camargo set sail from Jamaica with supplies for the colony on the banks of the Panuco. On arrival, he found the Huastec tribe attacking the village. He was able to evacuate 60 colonists, but the remainder, including Alvarez de Pineda and his mother, Nina, were killed.^[5]

[edit] Footnotes

[edit] References

• Chipman, Donald E. (1992), Spanish Texas, 1519-1821, Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, ISBN 0292776594 
• Weber, David J. (1992), The Spanish Frontier in North America, Yale Western Americana Series, New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, ISBN 0300051980 
• Robert S. Weddle: Alonso Alvarez de Pineda from the Handbook of Texas Online. Retrieved December 23, 2008.