Alvaro Mexia was a 17th-century

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

explorer and

cartographer Cartography (; from grc, χάρτης , "papyrus, sheet of paper, map"; and , "write") is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an im ...

of the east coast of

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. Mexia was stationed in

St Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Afr ...

and was given a diplomatic mission to the native populations living south of St. Augustine and in the

Cape Canaveral , image = cape canaveral.jpg , image_size = 300 , caption = View of Cape Canaveral from space in 1991 , map = Florida#USA , map_width = 300 , type =Cape , map_caption = Location in Florida , location ...

area. This mission resulted in a "Period of Friendship" between the Spanish and the

Ais AIS may refer to: Medicine * Abbreviated Injury Scale, an anatomical-based coding system to classify and describe the severity of injuries * Acute ischemic stroke, the thromboembolic type of stroke * Androgen insensitivity syndrome, an intersex ...

native population. When

Pedro de Ibarra Pedro de Ibarra was a Spanish general who served as a Royal Governor of Spanish Florida (1603 – 1610). Early years Originally from the Basque Country, Ibarra joined the Spanish Army in his youth and eventually attained the rank of general. In ...

became the Spanish Governor of Florida, he knew the Spanish needed to improve relations with the natives, so he sent Mexia on a diplomatic mission in

1605 Events January–June * January 16 – The first part of Miguel de Cervantes' satire on the theme of chivalry, ''Don Quixote'' (''El ingenioso hidalgo don Quixote de la Mancha'', "The Ingenious Hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha"), is publ ...

to gain knowledge of the lands and populations south of St. Augustine, as well as to assist that year's treasure fleet on its way back to Spain. Mexia wrote about his experiences among the native

in a document known as a ''Derrotero'', a self-proclaimed "truthful account" and description of his journey in the land of the Ais. Mexia also created a map in color. His journey completed in 1605, his ''Derrotero'' and map were sent to the King of Spain in a letter from Pedro de Ibarra. His letters and map show native towns and place names south of St. Augustine. These include: *

Surruque The Surruque people lived along the middle Atlantic coast of Florida during the 16th and 17th centuries. They may have spoken a dialect of the Timucua language, but were allied with the Ais. The Surruque became clients of the Spanish government in ...

In New Smyrna Beach. Mexia and his party arrived at Surruque on June 6, 1605, and remained in the area for eight days while he waited for orders to proceed to the Ais Indian Nation. * Nocoroco town – mouth of

Tomoka River The Tomoka River is a north-flowing river in Volusia County, Florida, Volusia County, Florida, United States. It drains an area of about and has a length of .U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe N ...

, in Volusia County * After leaving

Nocoroco Nocoroco is the site of a Timucuan village located on the Tomoka River, in Tomoka State Park. The park is located two or three miles north of Ormond Beach, Florida on North Beach Street. History Approximately seven thousand years ago, during ...

Mexia writes about passing by a ''buhio'', a West Indian (Arawak) word for a native hut. It came to be applied to anything from the family dwelling to the large communal lodge which according to Bishop Calderon, would accommodate 2000 to 3000 people. * Caparca site – New Smyrna (Volusia County) * Potopotoya –

Haulover Canal The Haulover Canal is a waterway north of Merritt Island, Florida, near the former site of Allenhurst, that connects Mosquito Lagoon with the Indian River, and is part of the Intracoastal Waterway. In the early 1960s there were plans to relocate ...

, place where Native Americans crossed land with their canoes * Savo * Lagoon of Sababoche – southern extent of the present-day

Banana River The Banana River is a lagoon that lies between Cape Canaveral and Merritt Island in Brevard County, Florida in the United States. It is part of the Indian River Lagoon system, and connects at its south end to the Indian River; it is the only p ...

* Town of Savochequeya – present-day Newfound Harbor on

Merritt Island, Florida Merritt Island is a peninsula, commonly referred to as an island, in Brevard County, Florida, United States, located on the eastern Floridian coast, along the Atlantic Ocean. It is also the name of an unincorporated town in the central and sout ...

* Lagoon of Ulumay – the Banana River Lagoon north of the Lagoon of Sababoche * Through "Callejon" to Pentoaya (Indian Harbor Beach on the barrier island and Eau Gallie on the mainland), a Distance of * Traverse of the Grand Bay of Ais * Two small islands in the Indian River Lagoon (one of which was Grant Farm Island) * Then to a small fresh water river, now called the Sebastian River * Then to the great Indian town of the Ais 1.5 leagues away (or about 4.5 to 5 miles), now called the Kroegel Homestead, but also called Barker's Bluff (8IR84) prior to the mound being sold for road-fill in the early 1900s Alvaro returned to St. Augustine and made his report to Ibarra on July 11, 1605, more than a month after his departure. The mission was considered a success as on September 2, 1605, the elusive Capitan Grande (an Ais Chief) finally arrived in St. Augustine accompanied by his ''mandador'' (a sort of deputy chief), the chiefs of Surruque and , and twenty Indians. Agreements were made that the Ais Indians would return shipwrecked sailors to the Spanish for a ransom.

References

External links

''The Florida Anthropologist'', Sept-Dec. 2010 http://ufdc.ufl.edu/UF00027829/00210/7j''The Florida Anthropologist'', March 2007 http://ufdc.ufl.edu/UF00027829/00200/23j
in

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

, Spain
Mexia's map of Florida
in: {{DEFAULTSORT:Mexia, Alvaro 17th-century explorers Explorers of Florida Spanish explorers of North America People from Cape Canaveral, Florida

References

Further reading

External links