Martín de Argüelles Jr. (1566–1630) was the

first white child The birth of the first white child is a concept that marks the establishment of a European colony in the New World, especially in the historiography of the United States. Americas Canada Snorri Thorfinnsson, born around 1010 in the Viking settle ...

known to have been born in what is now the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. His birthplace of

St. Augustine, Florida St. Augustine ( ; es, San Agustín ) is a city in the Southeastern United States and the county seat of St. Johns County on the Atlantic coast of northeastern Florida. Founded in 1565 by Spanish explorers, it is the oldest continuously inhabi ...

(''San Agustín, La Florida'') is the oldest continuously occupied, European-founded city in the United States.

Birth

Argüelles was born in 1566 in the Spanish settlement of San Agustín,

Spanish Florida Spanish Florida ( es, La Florida) was the first major European land claim and attempted settlement in North America during the European Age of Discovery. ''La Florida'' formed part of the Captaincy General of Cuba, the Viceroyalty of New Spain, ...

. Martín's parents were Martín de Argüelles (Sr.) and Leonor Morales. His father, Martín Argüelles Sr., an Asturian '' hidalgo'', was one of the expeditioners who came to

New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( es, Virreinato de Nueva España, ), or Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain during the Spanish colonization of the A ...

in the

New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. ...

with Captain General

Pedro Menéndez de Avilés Pedro Menéndez de Avilés (; ast, Pedro (Menéndez) d'Avilés; 15 February 1519 – 17 September 1574) was a Spanish admiral, explorer and conquistador from Avilés, in Asturias, Spain. He is notable for planning the first regular trans-ocean ...

in 1565. Argüelles Sr. was the first ''

Alcalde Alcalde (; ) is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and administrative functions. An ''alcalde'' was, in the absence of a corregidor, the presiding officer of the Castilian '' cabildo'' (the municipal council) ...

'' (Mayor) of San Agustín, and had been in charge of munitions in the Florida forts of Santa María, San Agustín (now St. Augustine), and Santa Elena. Arguelles heraldry

Lifetime

Martín Argüelles Jr. served the Spanish crown in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...

and several garrisons and expeditions which embarked in the

Spanish Armada The Spanish Armada (a.k.a. the Enterprise of England, es, Grande y Felicísima Armada, links=no, lit=Great and Most Fortunate Navy) was a Spanish fleet that sailed from Lisbon in late May 1588, commanded by the Duke of Medina Sidonia, an ar ...

which went in search of corsair

Francis Drake Sir Francis Drake ( – 28 January 1596) was an English explorer, sea captain, privateer, slave trader, naval officer, and politician. Drake is best known for his circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition, from 1577 to 1580 ...

. He was later transferred in 1594 from

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribb ...

, to Mérida,

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

, where he was appointed Executive Officer of the Mérida fortress and coast. Argüelles was married in Mérida.

Descendants

Argüelles' descendants included José Argüelles, who was one of the colonizers of the Province of New Santander in

in 1749, in what is now the

Mexican state The states of Mexico are first-level administrative territorial entities of the country of Mexico, which is officially named United Mexican States. There are 32 federal entities in Mexico (31 states and the capital, Mexico City, as a separate en ...

Tamaulipas Tamaulipas (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas), is a state in the northeast region of Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal Entiti ...

References

* Abbad y Lasierra, Iñigo, ''Relación del descubrimiento, conquista y población de las provincias y costas de la Florida'' - ' ''Relación de La Florida'' (1785); edición de Juan José Nieto Callén y José María Sánchez Molledo. * Fairbanks, George R. (George Rainsford), ''History and antiquities of St. Augustine, Florida'' (1881), Jacksonville, Fla., H. Drew. * Reynolds, Charles B. (Charles Bingham), ''Old Saint Augustine, a story of three centuries,'' (1893) St. Augustine, Fla. E. H. Reynolds. * Menéndez de Avilés, Pedro. ''Cartas sobre la Florida, 1555-1574 / Pedro Menéndez de Avilés" "Letters regarding Florida, 1555-1574 by Pedro Menéndez de Avilés''; Juan Carlos Mercado, edición, introducción y notas.

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The libra ...

. * Lyon, Eugene, ''The enterprise of Florida : Pedro Menéndez de Avilés and the Spanish conquest of 1565-1568'' (1976), Gainesville : University Presses of Florida. {{DEFAULTSORT:Arguelles, Martin de 1566 births Year of death missing History of Asturias People of Spanish Florida Spanish explorers Spanish people of Greek descent

Birth

Lifetime

Descendants

See also

References