Ajacan

The Virginia was called "Land of Don Luis" by 16th century Spanish. The Chesapeake Bay was in the province of Axacan (Virginia). The bay was called "Bahia de Santa Maria" and the land had been called "Land of The Saints" earlier. The Spanish considered this land to be in their domain. Menendez de Aviles 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. Brother Carrera and his St Augustine, Florida Jesuit, about a half dozen souls, were instructed to build a mission which would be a short distance from where Jamestown, Virginia would later be built by the English, Ajacan landing. It was due to what the Spanish viewed as tresspassing that had brought about the order for the Monks to support the Virginia mining efforts. 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 also in the province of Axacan.

Background

Ship pilots of Portugal in the 15th century centered around Henry the Navigator's methods of seamanship. These shipwrights developed a vessel of two masts that could better cut across water and cross winds,Tack (sailing). Naval architect, engineers, developed a Bow (ship) Knee (construction) for the keel line on the Caravella which became a great improvement over, most often single, the square rigged Cog (ship). Later Celtic Cogs resembled Viking construction and rigging, but, were much more "beamy" (wider) for greater volumes of merchant freight, particularly livestock and mineral as the Renaissance period arose. The Portuguese Caravella was a great improvement in steerage in harbours, yet, able to carry plenty of provisions for extended voyages.

The Portuguese began sailing beyond Cape Bojador on the African coast to India. Pope Eugenius IV declared Portuguese discoveries had a right to claim on this spice route of the Atlantic and Indian Ocean which the following Popes in Rome continued to support. Spain, the other exploring seapower of the century, agreed to the Treaty of 1479 not to interfere with Portugal's long standing right to discoveries on the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa. King John of Portugal became alarmed by Christopher Columbus' claim for Spanish dominion of what these sailors thought were islands of Cathey of the Far East Asia coast, otherwise Cipango, today's Japan. Pope Alexander VI brokered a Treaty of right of discovery between Spain and Portugal on May, 4th, 1493. A demarkation between Spain and Portugal was agreed to as Columbus prepared his second expedition. By the Pope's efforts to avoid conflict of tresspassing, a second Treaty of Tordasillas was agreed to. It extended the line of dominion beyond the "Cape de Vird Islands" in the Atlantic by 370 leagues. It was this treaty that allowed Portugal's claim to Brazil which was discovered in 1500. Meanwhile, Henry the Navigator's fishing pilots had been going to and from Newfoundland and Labrador's fisheries. Of these are the old sailor's stories which are rather difficult for scholars to document. Scholars suspect even Columbus had ventured along on one of these Portuguese fishing trips to the North Atlantic's western fisheries prior to his acquiring his first exploration fleet. Stories of sea monsters and places such as the "Land of The Saints" were common pilot's and fishermen's "Inn talk", stories, at the western Europe seaport villages during the 15th century. "For many years after, the ships and adventurers of France and England drew an unfailing supply of skillful pilots from the little kingdom, sometimes by enlisting them by cunning, sometimes by force, and not infrequently finding them ready and willing servants to conduct their most hazardous interprises," quoting historian Woodbury Lowery in his book, "The Spanish Settlements Within The Presant Limits Of The United States" (1905). Northern Europe vessels tended to be the Square-rigged Caravel as opposed to the southern Lateen rigged.

Two Dominican Friers
Don Luis the Virginia Indian of province Axacan was a brother to a chief in the lower Chesapeake Bay area. In 1559 or 1560, a Spanish vessel, perhaps, with some Dominican monks caused him to go with them to Mexico. The Viceroy of Mexico had him baptised with the name Don Luis de Velasco. Villafane had been in the Chesapeake Bay area in 1561. The chief at the Chesapeake was called Regulus according to Sacchini. At San Mateo, Aviles sent a Captain with 32 soldiers and two Dominican friars to settle the believe route to the mountian pass and rivers that was thought to lead to the Pacific ocean. This was supposed to have return Luis home to the Chesapeake. But no, the two friars had already been in South America and they Captain convinced the pilot to navigate back to Europe claiming bad weather for the deviation. 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 and 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 1570
Ajacan landing included Father Segura, 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 of these whom departed Santa Elena for the Chesapeake Bay on August 5th, 1570. They had arrive at Ajacan landing on September 10th, 1570. They found the local people had removed themmselves from the 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." 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 mountians another sea is observed." Aviles of Spain maintain a 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. Luis left the missionaries to forage on their own through the winter. Father Rogal wrote of Avales' vengeance on Luis' party who commited the murders on February 8th, 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.

Visitors to Axacan

The Florida priests built the mission Ajacan across the peninsula to the York River (Virginia). By 1571, the Spanish presence on the Axacan were all massacred. Historians attribute it to either the Powhatan Confederacy or privateers. 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 Letter of marque to raid on Spanish Maine. English privateers had been sailing to the North American coast since 1562, preying on Spanish shipping loaded with royal loot from the Spanish Maine, Gulf of Mexico. Their provision and repair anchorage was often at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay where the easterly North Atlantic current, just north of the "Sargasas Sea" (the seaweed "beds" and drift circling in the central North Atlantic), moves towards the Celtic Sea of Ireland and Bay of Biscay of norhthern Spain and Portugal. The Ajacan settlement monks were destroyed by the Native American Don Luis and his relatives, Virginia Indians. It remains unclear as to whom removed the Spanish presence at the region of Axacan.

Reference

Citation: Chesapeake Bay - The Mariners' Museum, online.