Tequesta

At the mouth of the Miami River, where fresh water enters Biscayne Bay, stood the principal village of the Tequesta people. Their territory extended along the southeastern coast of Florida, among mangrove shores, islands and wetlands. Fish, shellfish and other animals of the coastal waters formed an important part of their diet, while canoes carried them between settlements along the shore.

In 1567 Pedro Menéndez de Avilés established a Spanish post and Jesuit mission near the Tequesta village. Relations soon deteriorated, and the mission was abandoned. Spanish missionaries returned briefly in 1743, founding Santa María de Loreto by the river, but left within months. In 1763, when Spain ceded Florida to Britain, surviving Native people from southern Florida went to Cuba with the departing Spanish.