Alonso Álvarez de Pineda (; 1494–1520) was a Spanish
conquistador and
cartographer who was the first to prove the insularity of the
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...
by sailing around its coast. In doing so he created the first map to depict what is now
Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
and parts of the
Gulf Coast of the United States
The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South or the South Coast, is the coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The list of U.S. states and territories by coastline, coastal states th ...
.
Life
Born in
Aldeacentenera, Spain, i
1494 he led several expeditions in 1519 to map the westernmost coastlines of the Gulf of Mexico, from the
Yucatán Peninsula to the
Pánuco River, and also explored parts of
Florida
Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
, which at the time was believed to be an island.
Antón de Alaminos' explorations had eliminated the western areas as being the site of the passage, leaving the land between the Pánuco River and Florida to be mapped.
[Weber (1992), p. 34.] An expedition was organized to chart the remainder of the Gulf.
Francisco de Garay, Governor of the
Colony of Santiago, outfitted three ships with two hundred and seventy soldiers and placed them under the command of Álvarez de Pineda,
who left Santiago in early 1520 and sailed west to follow the northern coastline of the Gulf.
At the western tip of southern Florida, he attempted to sail east, but the winds were not on his side, somehow he did anchor off
Villa Rica de la Veracruz shortly after
Hernán Cortés
Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro Altamirano, 1st Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca (December 1485 – December 2, 1547) was a Spanish ''conquistador'' who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions o ...
had departed.
[Chipman (1993), p. 24.] Cortés returned on hearing of Álvarez de Pineda's arrival.
[Diaz, B., 1963, ''The Conquest of New Spain'', London: Penguin Books, ] Álvarez 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 Álvarez de Pineda left to retrace his route northward.
[Chipman (1992), p. 26.]
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
Pánuco River near present-day
Tampico, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Álvarez de Pineda was subsequently killed in a battle with the native
Huastec people
The Huastec or Téenek (contraction of ''Te' Inik'', "people from here"; also known as Huaxtec, Wastek or Huastecos) are an Indigenous people of Mexico, living in the La Huasteca region including the Mexican state, states of Hidalgo (Mexico), Hid ...
at the
Pánuco River. Garay later sent two expeditions under Diego Camargo and
Miguel Díez de Aux to find him, but they were unsuccessful, finding only his burned ships. Pineda's map did make it back to Governor Garay.
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. Álvarez de Pineda became the first European to see the coastal areas of what is now western Florida,
Alabama
Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...
,
Mississippi
Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...
,
Louisiana
Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...
, and Texas, lands he called "Amichel".
He also sailed upriver on the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...
, being credited with the discovery of this river. His map is the first known document of
Texas history and was the first map of the
Gulf Coast region of the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. It is stored at the Archivo General de Indias in Sevilla (Spain).
[Chipman (1992), p. 243.]
Footnotes
References
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*
*
Encyclopedia.com Clotilde P. Garcia, M.D., of Corpus Christi, Texas, for much of the known historical information about Alvarez de Piñeda. Her years of research were conducted in order to prepare a paper to qualify for the issuance of a historical marker for Captain Alonso Alvarez de Piñeda in Corpus Christi. The only actual mention of his date of birth appears in a biography of his immediate superior, Francisco de Garay
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pineda, Alonso Alvarez de
People from Tierra de Trujillo
Spanish explorers of North America
People of Spanish Texas
16th-century Spanish explorers
1494 births
1520 deaths