THE PINEDA CHART of 1520 outlines the Gulf of Mexico for the first time and proved there was no passage westward to China. The map is attached to a royal patent of 1521 giving Francesco de Garay the right to colonize between "Florida, formerly Bimini" and Mexico. Alonso de Pineda had been commissioned by Garay to scout the Gulf, discovered the Mississippi River. (Archivo General de Indias, Seville)
previous page50
