Ajacàn Mission
Encyclopedia
The Ajacán Mission (also Axaca, Axacam, Iacan, Jacán, Xacan) was a failed attempt in 1570 to establish a Jesuit
mission
on the Virginia Peninsula
. They intended to bring Christianity
to the Virginia Indians. The effort to found what was to be called St. Mary's Mission predated the establishment of the English
settlement at Jamestown
by about 36 years. For related events see Timeline of the colonization of North America.
(which the Spanish called "Bahía de Madre de Dios". or "Bahía de Santa Maria") while in search of the fabled Northwest Passage
to India
. They named the land now known as Virginia
, as Ajacán ("Jacán" in Oré.)
The Spanish succeeded founding a colonial settlement in the New World
in 1565 at St. Augustine, Florida
. It was the first founded by Europeans in what is now the United States. They established small Spanish outposts along the eastern coast into present-day Georgia
and the Carolinas. The northern-most post was Santa Elena
(today Port Royal, South Carolina
). From there Juan Pardo was commissioned to lead expeditions into the interior, founding Fort San Juan in 1567-1568 at the regional chiefdom
of Joara
as the first European settlement in the interior of North America, in present-day western North Carolina
.
In 1561, an expedition sent by Ángel de Villafañe
captured a Virginia Indian boy along Chesapeake Bay and took him to Mexico. The boy was instructed in the Catholic
religion and baptized Don Luis
, in honor of Luis de Velasco
, the Viceroy of New Spain. The Spanish took the Indian youth to Madrid, Spain, where he had an audience with the King. He received a thorough Jesuit education. Don Luis traveled to Havana
with some Dominicans who were headed for Florida as missionaries, but the Dominicans abandoned their plans for Florida.
and Santa Elena, and wanted to establish a mission in Ajacán without a military garrison, which was unusual. Despite his superiors' concerns, they gave him permission to found what was to be called St. Mary's Mission.
In August 1570, Father Segura, Father Luis de Quirós, former head of the Jesuit college among the Moors
in Spain, and six Jesuit brothers set forth from their base in Havana on their Ajacán Mission. The young Spanish boy Alonso de Olmos, called Aloncito, also accompanied the priests. Don Luis served as their guide and interpreter. They stopped partway at Santa Elena for provisioning. On September 10, the party of 10 landed in Ajacán.
on the north side of the Virginia Peninsula
, near the York River
. Recent findings suggest that St. Mary's Mission may have been in the village of Axacam on the New Kent
side of Diascund Creek, near its confluence with the Chickahominy River
. Others speculate that the location was on the Delaware Bay.
Don Luis attempted to locate his native village of Chiskiack, which he had not seen in ten years. In the same general area, the Spaniards constructed a small wooden hut with an adjoining room where Mass could be celebrated. Soon after the Spanish ship had departed, Don Luis left the Jesuits, purportedly to seek food. Rather than returning, he rejoined his own people and reportedly resumed his traditional practices.
Another theory places the Jesuit Mission at Aquia Creek
, in Patawomeck
territory. On October 27, 1935, a bronze tablet was unveiled in their memory at the Aquia Catholic cemetery, listing the names of the slain: "Luis De Quiros, Priest, Baptistan Mendez and Gabriel De Solis, Scholastics, on February 4, 1571. Juan Baptista De Segura, Priest, Cristobel Redondo, Scholastic, Padro Linarez, Gabriel Gomez and Sancho Zeballos, Brothers, February 9, 1571...".
They successfully traded with some natives for food, but it was increasingly in short supply as the winter months set in. Around February of 1571, Don Luis returned with other natives and stole all their clothing and supplies. The natives killed both the priests and all six brothers. Only Alonso, the young servant boy, was spared. Escaping, the young boy made his way to a rival native chief, who lived close to the main coast on the Chesapeake Bay. There he waited until a relief expedition arrived in 1572.
arrived from Florida to take revenge for the massacre. His forces never discovered Don Luis, but the Spanish hanged eight other Indians accused of murdering the missionaries.
Following the death of Father Segura and his companions, the Jesuits were recalled from St. Augustine and sent to Mexico. In 1573, governor of Spanish Florida, Pedro Menéndez de Márquez
conducted further exploration of the Chesapeake. However, the failed attempt to establish a mission in Virginia effectively spelled the end of Spanish ventures to colonize the area.
as the new Shrine of the Jesuit Martyrs.
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
mission
Mission (Christian)
Christian missionary activities often involve sending individuals and groups , to foreign countries and to places in their own homeland. This has frequently involved not only evangelization , but also humanitarian work, especially among the poor and disadvantaged...
on the Virginia Peninsula
Virginia Peninsula
The Virginia Peninsula is a peninsula in southeast Virginia, USA, bounded by the York River, James River, Hampton Roads and Chesapeake Bay.Hampton Roads is the common name for the metropolitan area that surrounds the body of water of the same name...
. They intended to bring Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
to the Virginia Indians. The effort to found what was to be called St. Mary's Mission predated the establishment of the English
British colonization of the Americas
British colonization of the Americas began in 1607 in Jamestown, Virginia and reached its peak when colonies had been established throughout the Americas...
settlement at Jamestown
Jamestown, Virginia
Jamestown was a settlement in the Colony of Virginia. Established by the Virginia Company of London as "James Fort" on May 14, 1607 , it was the first permanent English settlement in what is now the United States, following several earlier failed attempts, including the Lost Colony of Roanoke...
by about 36 years. For related events see Timeline of the colonization of North America.
Spanish exploration
Early in the 16th century, Spanish explorers were the first Europeans to see the Chesapeake BayChesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
(which the Spanish called "Bahía de Madre de Dios". or "Bahía de Santa Maria") while in search of the fabled Northwest Passage
Northwest Passage
The Northwest Passage is a sea route through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America via waterways amidst the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans...
to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. They named the land now known as Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, as Ajacán ("Jacán" in Oré.)
The Spanish succeeded founding a colonial settlement in the New World
New World
The New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...
in 1565 at St. Augustine, Florida
St. Augustine, Florida
St. Augustine is a city in the northeast section of Florida and the county seat of St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Founded in 1565 by Spanish explorer and admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, it is the oldest continuously occupied European-established city and port in the continental United...
. It was the first founded by Europeans in what is now the United States. They established small Spanish outposts along the eastern coast into present-day Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
and the Carolinas. The northern-most post was Santa Elena
Santa Elena, la Florida
Santa Elena was a Spanish settlement founded by Pedro Menéndez de Avilés on what is now Parris Island, South Carolina. There had been a number of earlier attempts to establish colonies in the area by both the Spanish and the French, who had been inspired by earlier accounts of the plentiful land...
(today Port Royal, South Carolina
Port Royal, South Carolina
Port Royal is a town in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. Largely because of annexation of surrounding areas , the population of Port Royal rose from 3,950 in 2000 to 10,678 in 2010, a 170% increase. As defined by the U.S...
). From there Juan Pardo was commissioned to lead expeditions into the interior, founding Fort San Juan in 1567-1568 at the regional chiefdom
Chiefdom
A chiefdom is a political economy that organizes regional populations through a hierarchy of the chief.In anthropological theory, one model of human social development rooted in ideas of cultural evolution describes a chiefdom as a form of social organization more complex than a tribe or a band...
of Joara
Joara
Joara was a large Native American settlement, a regional chiefdom of the Mississippian culture, located in what is now Burke County, North Carolina. Joara is notable as a significant archaeological and historic site. It was a place of encounter in 1540 between the Mississippian people and the...
as the first European settlement in the interior of North America, in present-day western North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
.
In 1561, an expedition sent by Ángel de Villafañe
Ángel de Villafañe
Ángel de Villafañe was the Spanish conquistador of Florida, Mexico, and Guatemala, and was an explorer, expedition leader, and ship captain , who worked with many 16th-century settlements and shipwrecks along the Gulf of Mexico.- Life and work :Ángel de Villafañe was born about 1504, as the son of...
captured a Virginia Indian boy along Chesapeake Bay and took him to Mexico. The boy was instructed in the Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
religion and baptized Don Luis
Don Luis
Don Luís , also known as Paquiquino, was a Native American from Tidewater Virginia who in 1561 traveled to Spain, was baptized in Mexico, and in 1571 returned as a missionary to Virginia, where he apparently participated in the killing of the Jesuits who had accompanied him.Some historians, among...
, in honor of Luis de Velasco
Luis de Velasco
Luís de Velasco was the second viceroy of New Spain during the Spanish colonization of the Americas in the mid-sixteenth century....
, the Viceroy of New Spain. The Spanish took the Indian youth to Madrid, Spain, where he had an audience with the King. He received a thorough Jesuit education. Don Luis traveled to Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
with some Dominicans who were headed for Florida as missionaries, but the Dominicans abandoned their plans for Florida.
Mission
In 1570, Father Juan Bautista de Segura, Jesuit vice provincial of Havana, had just withdrawn the Jesuit missionaries from GualeGuale
Guale was an historic Native American chiefdom along the coast of present-day Georgia and the Sea Islands. Spanish Florida established its Roman Catholic missionary system in the chiefdom in the late 16th century. During the late 17th century and early 18th century, Guale society was shattered...
and Santa Elena, and wanted to establish a mission in Ajacán without a military garrison, which was unusual. Despite his superiors' concerns, they gave him permission to found what was to be called St. Mary's Mission.
In August 1570, Father Segura, Father Luis de Quirós, former head of the Jesuit college among the Moors
Moors
The description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of the Maghreb region who are predominately of Berber and Arab descent. They came to conquer and rule the Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years. At that time they were Muslim, although earlier the people had followed...
in Spain, and six Jesuit brothers set forth from their base in Havana on their Ajacán Mission. The young Spanish boy Alonso de Olmos, called Aloncito, also accompanied the priests. Don Luis served as their guide and interpreter. They stopped partway at Santa Elena for provisioning. On September 10, the party of 10 landed in Ajacán.
Location undetermined
Some say that the location they chose was at Queen's CreekQueen's Creek
Queen's Creek is located in York County in the Virginia Peninsula area of the Hampton Roads region of southeastern Virginia in the United States...
on the north side of the Virginia Peninsula
Virginia Peninsula
The Virginia Peninsula is a peninsula in southeast Virginia, USA, bounded by the York River, James River, Hampton Roads and Chesapeake Bay.Hampton Roads is the common name for the metropolitan area that surrounds the body of water of the same name...
, near the York River
York River (Virginia)
The York River is a navigable estuary, approximately long, in eastern Virginia in the United States. It ranges in width from at its head to near its mouth on the west side of Chesapeake Bay. Its watershed drains an area including portions of 17 counties of the coastal plain of Virginia north...
. Recent findings suggest that St. Mary's Mission may have been in the village of Axacam on the New Kent
New Kent County, Virginia
At the 2000 census, there were 13,462 people, 4,925 households and 3,895 families residing in the county. The population density was 64 per square mile . There were 5,203 housing units at an average density of 25 per square mile...
side of Diascund Creek, near its confluence with the Chickahominy River
Chickahominy River
The Chickahominy is an river in the eastern portion of the U.S. state of Virginia. The river rises about northwest of Richmond and flows southeast and south to the James River...
. Others speculate that the location was on the Delaware Bay.
Don Luis attempted to locate his native village of Chiskiack, which he had not seen in ten years. In the same general area, the Spaniards constructed a small wooden hut with an adjoining room where Mass could be celebrated. Soon after the Spanish ship had departed, Don Luis left the Jesuits, purportedly to seek food. Rather than returning, he rejoined his own people and reportedly resumed his traditional practices.
Another theory places the Jesuit Mission at Aquia Creek
Aquia Creek
Aquia Creek is a tributary of the tidal segment of the Potomac River and is located in northern Virginia. The creek's headwaters lie in southeastern Fauquier County, and it empties into the Potomac at Brent Point in Stafford County, south of Washington, D.C....
, in Patawomeck
Patawomeck
The Patawomeck tribe of Virginia Indians is based in Stafford County, Virginia, along the Potomac River . It is one of Virginia's 11 recognized American Indian tribes. It is not federally recognized...
territory. On October 27, 1935, a bronze tablet was unveiled in their memory at the Aquia Catholic cemetery, listing the names of the slain: "Luis De Quiros, Priest, Baptistan Mendez and Gabriel De Solis, Scholastics, on February 4, 1571. Juan Baptista De Segura, Priest, Cristobel Redondo, Scholastic, Padro Linarez, Gabriel Gomez and Sancho Zeballos, Brothers, February 9, 1571...".
Abandonment
The small band of Jesuits realized that they had been abandoned by Don Luis. The mid-Atlantic region was enduring a long period of famine due to drought conditions. The food they brought with them was in short supply. Immediately they had to depend on Virginia Indians for food.They successfully traded with some natives for food, but it was increasingly in short supply as the winter months set in. Around February of 1571, Don Luis returned with other natives and stole all their clothing and supplies. The natives killed both the priests and all six brothers. Only Alonso, the young servant boy, was spared. Escaping, the young boy made his way to a rival native chief, who lived close to the main coast on the Chesapeake Bay. There he waited until a relief expedition arrived in 1572.
Aftermath
More than a year after the massacre, men from a Spanish supply ship found and rescued Alonso. He gave the only survivor's account of the events. In August 1572, Pedro Menéndez de AvilésPedro Menéndez de Avilés
Pedro Menéndez de Avilés was a Spanish admiral and explorer, best remembered for founding St. Augustine, Florida in 1565. This was the first successful Spanish foothold in La Florida and remained the most significant city in the region for several hundred years. St...
arrived from Florida to take revenge for the massacre. His forces never discovered Don Luis, but the Spanish hanged eight other Indians accused of murdering the missionaries.
Following the death of Father Segura and his companions, the Jesuits were recalled from St. Augustine and sent to Mexico. In 1573, governor of Spanish Florida, Pedro Menéndez de Márquez
Pedro Menéndez de Márquez
Pedro Menendez Márquez , Marqués de Avilés, was an explorer, Spanish conquistador and governor of Florida. He was a nephew of Pedro Menéndez de Avilés.- Biography :...
conducted further exploration of the Chesapeake. However, the failed attempt to establish a mission in Virginia effectively spelled the end of Spanish ventures to colonize the area.
Modern times
In 2002, the Richmond Diocese of the Catholic Church started seeking more recognition of the Spanish martyrs in Virginia. It "opened the cause for their canonization." The diocese has designated St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish in New Kent County, VirginiaNew Kent County, Virginia
At the 2000 census, there were 13,462 people, 4,925 households and 3,895 families residing in the county. The population density was 64 per square mile . There were 5,203 housing units at an average density of 25 per square mile...
as the new Shrine of the Jesuit Martyrs.
Further reading
- "Letter of Juan Rogel to Francis Borgia", 1572. Describes the rescue of a young boy, the sole survivor of the Indian massacre at Ajacàn, and the revenge taken by the Spanish forces. University of Virginia Library.
See also
- History of VirginiaHistory of VirginiaThe history of Virginia began with settlement of the geographic region now known as the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States thousands of years ago by Native Americans. Permanent European settlement began with the establishment of Jamestown in 1607, by English colonists. As tobacco emerged...
- Spanish colonization of the AmericasSpanish colonization of the AmericasColonial expansion under the Spanish Empire was initiated by the Spanish conquistadores and developed by the Monarchy of Spain through its administrators and missionaries. The motivations for colonial expansion were trade and the spread of the Christian faith through indigenous conversions...