Mission San Luis was one of more than 100 mission settlements established in Spanish Florida between the 1560s and 1690s. Between 1656 and 1704, more than 1400 Apalachee Indians and Spaniards lived at the mission. San Luis was a principal village of the Apalachee Indians and home of one of their most powerful leaders. San Luis was also the Spaniards' westernmost military, religious, and administrative headquarters. In 1705, one year after the missions were abandoned, Admiral Antonio de Landeche conducted a survey of Apalachee Province, and a map drawn during his visit provides the only cartographic evidence of San Luis and the surrounding area.