IN 1519 THE SPANISH GOVERNMENT COMMISSIONED ALONSO ALVAREZ DE PINEDA (1494-1519) TO EXPLORE THE COAST OF THE GULF OF MEXICO IN THE HOPE OF FINDING A WATER PASSAGE FROM THE GULF TO THE ORIENT.

What was the reason Pineda explored?

The stated purpose of Álvarez de Pineda's voyage was to explore the coast between the discoveries of De León on the Florida peninsula and those made on behalf of Velázquez along the southern Gulf, in hope of finding a strait to the Pacific Ocean.

Did Pineda explore Texas?

Álvarez de Pineda became the first European to see the coastal areas of what is now western Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas, lands he called "Amichel".