Native American history is trivialized when historians state that some European “discovered” an aspect or feature of North America. It is quite likely that the feature was part of the American experience for millennia before some señor, mister or monsieur stumbled across it and planted a flag.
Given that, let me state that Alonso Álvarez de Pineda was the first European to lay eyes on Mustang Island—at least its eastern shore. It was 1519, and this Spaniard was on a royal mission to map the unknown shoreline between Florida and Veracruz—essentially, nothing less than the northern and western boundaries of the Gulf of Mexico! Pineda’s map is the first known topographic rendering of the pass-indented Texas coastline (see image).
The Pineda story, through the pens of various Coastal Bend chroniclers, has expanded. In addition to seeing Mustang Island, this explorer also sailed through the Aransas Pass and navigated treacherous shoal waters until reaching a large bay, which he named Corpus Christi (Latin for Body of Christ). Pineda then retraced this difficult route back to the Gulf.
That perspective is problematic. It is highly dubious that Pineda’s mission statement, issued by the governor of Jamaica, specified extensive inshore explorations. Also, it is highly unlikely that Pineda would have risked his vessel by transiting an unknown, narrow pass that appeared dangerous (which the Aransas Pass was—and the Corpus Christi Pass as well). And lastly, no bay-like structures appear inland of the Texas coastline (see image).
Let’s cut to the chase: The odds Alvarez de Pineda saw Corpus Christi Bay are about the same as him finding that elusive passage to India.
I should not, however, toss the baby out with the bath. With that big sparkling bay as our neighbor to the west, it is meaningful to know about its christening. A credible historian gives this account (which appears elsewhere). By the mid-1700s, Spain had established missions and forts at San Antonio and Goliad. The region below the latitude of these settlements and the Rio Grande River was unsettled and basically unknown. Joaquín de Orobio y Basterra was charged in January, 1747, to lead an expedition to probe this region’s coastline. The Spaniards trekked southward, soon reaching a large circular bay that the expedition leader named San Miguel Arcangel.
While geographically informative, the Orobio y Basterra project did not lead to a settlement craze in the area. Fast forward to 1766. The Spanish suspect that the English have established a toehold on their Texas coastline. To investigate this, and shoo away any insolent Englishmen, Diego Ortiz Parrilla leads a mission from Eagle Pass to the coast. He comes upon a large circular bay named San Miguel Arcangel, and renames it Bahia Corpus Christi.
So now we know. Our big, sparkling backdoor neighbor started off as San Miguel Arcangel—St. Michael the Archangel—and later became Corpus Christi Bay.
Author’s notes:
Regarding the first European on Mustang Island: It is pure myth that Cabeza de Vaca, that intrepid shipwrecked Spaniard, was on Mustang Island. There is a reasonable chance that Luis de Moscoso, leading an expedition back to Mexico via Texas coastal waters, landed on Padre and/or Mustang islands in 1542 to make repairs and search for water.
Speaking of myths, regarding Mustang Island and Port Aransas history, Wikipedia.com
is a disaster (so what’s new?). For example, the Karankawa did not live in a village named Sand Point; the date for the Life Saving Station is off by 28 years; there was no Civil War vessel named USS Afton; and FDR did not make multiple trips here. Wiki is on my “tidy up” list, but until things are made right, I caution against it as a scholarly resource.
[Editor’s note: This historical series
by historian Dr. John Guthrie Ford
will lead up to the City of Port Aransas
centennial celebration, scheduled for
Oct. 16. Ford, in addition to enhancing
readers’ historical understanding
of Mustang Island and Port Aransas,
hopes to stimulate readers’ memories,
and invites their comments, amplifi-
cations and documented corrections.
Information can be sent to Ford at
southjetty@centurytel.net, with “Port
A history” in the subject line. Ford, a
charter member of, and consultant
to, the Port Aransas Preservation and
Historical Association, is the author
of A Texas Island,
available at various
retail outlets in Port Aransas.]
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