Transcript The Explorers POST TO NETSCHOOL.pptx

Spanish
Explorers
1492-1700
Conquistador A Spanish term for “conqueror”. Conquistadors
were explorers who searched for wealth and
land in the Americas for Spain.
After Columbus accidentally discovered the new world,
Spain concentrated on establishing colonies and expanding
their empire to the Americas. Spaniards on expeditions
along the coastline and shipwrecked explorers reported
hearing about a great civilization in the interior of the
continent with “great riches”. The Spanish explorers
wanted the wealth, fame, and glory for themselves, wanted
to convert natives to Christianity, all while claiming new
territories for Spain. This is known as the 3 G’s (Gold, God,
and Glory)
European “Morion” helmet
Hernan Cortes, 1519-1520
In 1519, the Spanish governor of Cuba commissioned Hernan Cortes to
explore the North American continent. The governor wanted a report on
the riches rumored to be there…
Cortes lands in Mexico with 11 ships, 508 soldiers, and 16 horses,
•Cortes expedition party often clashed with natives and the Aztec emperor,
Montezuma, had heard of the Europeans arrival.
•Montezuma and the Aztecs thought Cortes was the god, Quetzalcoatl and
welcomed Cortes and his men.
•After several battles, Cortes seized the city, and renamed the Aztec city of
Tenochtitlan, the city of Mexico, which would be the capital of New Spain.
(modern day Mexico City)
•The Cortes expedition inspired other Spaniards and future expeditions to
come to the Americas for wealth and new territory.
Commission To grant the power or authority to
carryout a specific task
After Cortes took the Aztec city, he tore down
the temple and built a Christian church on the
site of the “Templo Mayor”
Cortes describes the wonders of
Tenochtitlan…
“The city has many open squares in which markets
are continuously held and the general business of
buying and selling proceeds…There are daily more
than sixty thousand folk buying and selling. Every
kind of merchandise can be had…Finally I will
simply say that the manner of living among the
people is very similar to that in Spain, and
considering that this is a barbarous nation shut off
from knowledge of the true God or communication
with enlightened nations, one may well marvel at the
orderliness and good government which is
everywhere maintained.”
Hernan Cortes, 1519-1520…continued
http://vimeo.com/13710580
The gold and silver Cortes brought back from Mexico made Spanish leaders even
more eager to explore New Spain. If they could lay claim to these lands and riches
they held, Spain would soon become the leader of Europe and the world…
The Plaza de las Tres Culturas ("Square of the Three Cultures")
Alonzo Alvarez de Pineda 1519
In 1519, the Spanish governor of Jamaica commissioned
Pineda to lead a fleet of ships to map the coastline of
the Gulf of Mexico and establish a Spanish colony.
•Expedition consisted of 4 warships and 270 men
•Journey cut short when he ran into Hernan Cortes
who was exploring further south. Cortes viewed him
as a rival and arrested some of Pineda’s exploring
party. Pineda retreated up the coast and established a
settlement near the present day Mexican city of
Tampico.
•By mapping the coastline, Pineda was the first
European to see the Texas coastline and map the Gulf
Region. (first known document of Texas history and
the first map of the Gulf Coast region of the United
States)
•Pineda’s map gave future explorers a route to travel by
on future expeditions
Marker in Refugio county, Texas
Pineda’s map of the
Gulf of Mexico
coastline…
Panfilo de Narvaez, 1526
In 1526, Narvaez was granted the right to explore the land of
Florida by the King of Spain. He also received permission to
conquer lands between Florida and Mexico and govern any
Spanish colonies that he established.
• Expedition included 5 ships, 600 men, and 82 horses
•Original plan was to travel on the gulf side of Florida over
land and meet his ships that carried supplies, further up the
coast. However, when he arrived, the ships were not there…
•Many men had died from starvation and the fewer than 300
left were ordered to build rafts so they could sail to Mexico.
•In early 1528, a hurricane drowned many of the men at sea,
including Narvaez.
•The 80 or so men that survived, beached their rafts at
Galveston Bay. They would become known as the first
Europeans to set foot in present day Texas. The stranded
explorers were cared for by the Karankawa, but soon spread
disease and within months, many of the Karankawa were
dead.
6 years later, only 4 members of the expedition still
survived
Alvar Nunez de Cabeza de Vaca, 1527
•Second in command of de Narvaez’s expedition, shipwrecked at
Galveston island, ended up one of the four survivors by the
end…
•Persuaded an African named Estevanico and the other
survivors to escape the Karankawa with him to Mexico
•Karankawas taught Cabeza de Vaca how to use native herbs for
healing. He even performed surgery on a warrior which helped
his crew remain on good terms with the Natives they
encountered.
•Spent nearly 6 years among natives in southeast Texas before
escaping to Mexico on foot.
•First European to step foot on Texas soil and first to explore
and describe the interior of Texas, including natives, plants, and
animals.
•Spread the word to officials about the native legends of the
seven cities of gold know as Cibola.
“The noblemen received considerable assistance
from Estevan, “the black” who was owned by
Dorantes and apparently knew more about
geography, distances, and directions than his
colleagues, and he was more effective in
communicating with Indians they met on their long
trek. “
Estevanico
Alvar Nunez de Cabeza de Vaca…continued
Commemorative Monument of
Cabeza de Vaca in Houston, Texas
Seven Cities of Cibola
• The Viceroy Of New Spain, hears of Cabeza de Vaca’s
story of Cibola (7 legendary cities of gold) and so
sends Friar Marcos de Niza and Estevanico to confirm
the story. They enter into the New Mexico/Arizona
area together and then Friar Marcos sends Estevanico
ahead as a scout.
• Estevanico was told to send a runner back with a cross
that would describe the size of the cities -A small cross
would mean they were small, a large cross would mean
they found a fabulous city of gold
• When the runner arrived he was carrying a large cross, so Friar Marcos hurried to join
Estevanico. Upon arriving though, he learned that natives had killed him.
• Friar Marcos decided to march on even then, until he saw what he thought were
Golden rooftops -What he likely had seen was the sun reflecting off the adobe houses
of a Pueblo dwelling.
• He hurries home to report to the viceroy that Cibola does exist.
Friar – person belonging to one of the
religious brotherhoods of the Roman Catholic
Church
Francisco Vasquez de Coronado, 1540
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After hearing confirmation of the legend, Mendoza
commissions Coronado to find the seven cities of Cibola in 1540.
- He leaves with 1000 foot soldiers & 300 horsemen
Travels to the southernmost of the seven pueblos Friar Marcos
had seen. He does not find any gold there - only adobe houses.
He doesn’t want to leave without riches, so he splits up the
expedition into two groups. One travels west towards New
Mexico and they become the first Europeans to see the Grand
Canyon. The other group travels east.
They meet a native named “El Turco” who told him about an
amazing land called Quivira. Coronado begins looking for this
land.
Travels as far north as present day Kansas.
Coronado traveled and explored further north throughout the
Southwest than any other explorers before him.
His accounts convinced Spain that the Great Plains and Texas
were not worth exploring any longer. It stayed that way for
almost 150 years.
There were no riches and so Coronado executes El Turco for
lying. He claims the land for Spain and returns to Mexico City.
Hernando de Soto, 1539
• A second expedition led by de Soto leaves
Spain in search of the Seven Cities of
Cibola.
• He doesn’t find Quivira, but as they
searched they heard of precious stones and
gold nearby
• Leading De Soto to explore parts of Georgia,
the Carolinas, Tennessee, Alabama,
Mississippi and Arkansas
• Heruns out of supplies and so turns back in
1542
• De Soto becomes ill and dies before making
it back to the coast. He is succeeded by Luis
de Moscoso de Alvarado.
• Moscoso sets out to find an overland route
to Mexico and travels westward into East
Texas- present day Texarkana.
• He finds no riches or food, and the
expedition returns to the Mississippi river
and built boats to sail back to Mexico
• This was the first major exploration into
interior of North America.