Pedro de Aguirre was a Basque Spanish military man and explorer. He led the Espinosa-Olivares-Aguirre expedition in Texas.

Biography

Aguirre was born in

Arantza Arantza is a town and municipality located in the province and autonomous community of Navarre, northern Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto ...

, a small town located in the autonomous community of

Navarre Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

, to Pedro de Aguirre and María Sagardia. Aguirre joined the Spanish Navy in his youth and was promoted to captain. Later, he was sent to

Coahuila Coahuila (), formally Coahuila de Zaragoza (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Coahuila de Zaragoza ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila de Zaragoza), is one of the 32 states of Mexico. Coahuila borders the Mexican states of N ...

to work at the

Presidio A presidio ( en, jail, fortification) was a fortified base established by the Spanish Empire around between 16th and 18th centuries in areas in condition of their control or influence. The presidios of Spanish Philippines in particular, were cen ...

de San Juan Bautista del Río Grande del Norte, where he served as a

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

. In 1708 he was elected by a council to lead the expedition of Antonio de Olivares and

Isidro de Espinosa Isidro Félix de Espinosa (1679–1755) was a Franciscan missionary from New Spain who participated in several expeditionary missions throughout the province of Tejas (modern Texas). He was the president of the missionaries from the College of S ...

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_ ...

and the

Colorado River of Texas The Colorado River is an approximately long river in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the 18th longest river in the United States and the longest river with both its source and its mouth within Texas. Its drainage basin and some of its usually ...

. The expeditionary team included fourteen soldiers. The purpose of the expedition was to establish a colony in San Antonio and make an agreement with the Tejas Indians, a Native American people who had been sighted on the banks of the Colorado River of Texas. This agreement would require the Tejas to monitor the territory and inform the explorers if the French were trading there as they suspected (since the French wanted to occupy Texas and trade between Latin America and foreign territories was illegal). The group began its journey on April 5, 1709 at the San Juan Bautista mission on the

Sabinas River The Sabinas River is a river of Mexico. It is a tributary of the Rio Salado, which in turn flows into the Rio Grande. See also * List of rivers of Mexico * List of tributaries of the Rio Grande Tributaries and sub-tributaries are hierarchically ...

(in present-day Mexico). Upon arriving in San Antonio, they explored the region. In this place, they discovered the San Pedro Springs and the San Antonio de Padua river, which were named with their modern names. As they progressed on their journey, the group made contact with several indigenous peoples they did not know, particularly with the

Yojuanes The Yojuane were a people who lived in Texas in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. They were closely associated with the Jumano and may have also been related to the Tonkawa. They have no connection to the Yowani in Texas, a Choctaw band. Etym ...

and their allies, the

Simonos The Simono were an indigenous people who lived in what is now part of the Mexican state of Nuevo Leon and the U.S. state of Texas from at least the 16th century in the 18th century. In the late 1580s or maybe slightly earlier the pressure of the S ...

and the Tusonibi. The Amerindians insisted on taking the group to their villages, located along the Rio Brazos, and introducing them to their families. However, they declined the invitation. On April 19, they arrived at the Colorado River, but did not find any Tejas. On April 28, after the failure of their last mission, the group left the region and took the road back to San Juan Bautista.

References

{{Authority control Spanish explorers of North America Explorers of Texas 17th-century Spanish people 18th-century Spanish people People from Cinco Villas, Navarre Spanish naval officers History of Coahuila People from the Kingdom of Navarre