Spanish Jesuit missionaries land in present-day Virginia to establish the short-lived Ajacán Mission.

The Ajacán Mission was a Spanish attempt in 1570 to establish a Jesuit mission in the vicinity of the Virginia Peninsula to show Christianity to the Virginia Native Americans. The effort to found St. Mary's Mission predated the founding of the English settlement at Jamestown, Virginia, by about 36 years. In February 1571, the entire party was massacred by natives, except for Alonso de Olmos. The following year, a Spanish party from Florida went to the area, rescued Alonso, and killed several native Americans in retaliation.