Early Explorers in Texas Spanish and French

Vocabulary Conquistadores: Spanish Soldiers, sought riches and power for themselves and wealth and glory for Spain Friars: members of Catholic religious orders Missions: religious outposts, often the first settlement in an area Viceroy: an official who represents the monarch Pueblo: a series of connected flat-roofed buildings often made of adobe Stockade: an enclosure of posts made to form a defense Sandbar: a ridge built up by currents in a river or coastal waters

Spain Christopher Columbus Hernan Cortes Alonso Alvarez de Pineda Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca Panfilo de Narvaez Estevanico Antonio de Mendoza Fray Marcos de Niza Francisco Vazquez de Coronado Hernan de Soto Luis de Moscoso

Christopher Columbus Sailed across the Atlantic for 33 days straight on his 3 ships Sighted land in October 1492 (the Caribbean Islands) Was searching for route to Asia Was Italian but sailing for Spain He returned 3 times after his first voyage On his second visit, he established a colony in the West Indies

Possibilities of Settlement Spanish Reasons For Exploration God, Glory, & Gold Adventure & Curiosity Possibilities of Settlement

Hernan Cortes Sailed from Cuba to Mexico in February 1519 Led his army toward Tenochtitlan-the Aztec capital Convinced tribes who suffered under the Aztecs to rebel He was welcomed into the capital at first He soon took Moctezuma-their emperor-hostage Aztecs rebelled and their leader was killed Cortes tore down the city and stole its treasures Built a new city on its ruins, Mexico Later known as Mexico City and Mexico’s capital His success led others to the Americas

Alonso Alvarez de Pineda 1519, Became the first European to explore the Texas coastline As he sailed along the coastline, he observed and mapped the land Stopped at the mouth of a river for 40 days Named it Rio de las Palmas Reported his findings and maps to a superior in Jamaica Returned to Mexico to begin a settlement Died in 1520 in a Native American uprising

Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca A part of an expedition sent to conquer an area between Florida and Mexico in 1527 Expedition was led by Panfilo de Narvaez, it failed Were stranded in Florida so they build boats to travel along coast Hurricane hit in November 1528, they crashed onto Galveston Island These survivors were the first to enter Texas Captured by the Karankawas who were kind to their captures Many explorers died within months from disease & exposure Natives also died from disease

De Vaca and captives survived by adapting to the ways of the natives Only a few survived, Estevanico-the first known black man in Texas-was one of them Travelled the interior of Texas, learning the geography and people Spent 6 years with the natives He escaped and travelled further west for many months, reaching Culiacan, Mexico in 1536-where he told his stories of the seven cities of gold, Cibola He admitted to never finding the gold or riches himself-he suggested they send others to search

Antonio de Mendoza Spain’s highest ranking official in New Spain A viceroy de Vaca’s story intrigued him Found others to return in search of the cities of gold, de Vaca wanted to return to Spain Sent a priest, Fray Marcos de Niza, to check out the story, Estevanico accompanied him to show the natives they were friendly Estevanico was killed by Indians and Fray Niza confirmed that Cibola was a pueblo but also claimed he got a glimse of a golden city. Mendoza immediately sent an expedition in search of it

Francisco Vasquez de Coronado Was the one sent by Mendoza Fray Marcos joined them After 5 months of travel, on July 7, 1540, he found Cibola-disappointed Fray Marcos left for Mexico immediately Coronado wanted to find something worth the expedition so he travelled on He divided his forces: one west-found the Grand Canyon one east-his-heard a story from a Native, Turk, of a great city He and his men would search for the city but found the Texas Plains It was easy to get lost in the Plains Came across the Palo Duro Canyon near present day Amarillo They continued northward Finding nothing, he put the Turk to death Claimed Witchita country for Spain

Hernan de soto Luis de moscoso Landed in Florida in 1539 The first European to reach the Mississippi, 1541 Died there in 1542 Luis de moscoso Took charge of the expedition Went as far west as the Brazos River Went back to the Mississippi and sailed down into the Gulf

Spain’s interest decreased in Texas: No treasures found like those found in Mexico They built towns in other areas

Rene Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle France Rene Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle 1682-Led the first expedition down the Mississippi River Claimed the entire inland area around the river for France August 1, 1684-Four ships, 280 colonists set sail for Louisiana Spanish ships captured one ship Others were separated by a storm Missed the mouth of the Mississippi and sailed 400 miles west Still searching for the Mississippi, he decided to go ashore at Matagora Bay During landing, one ship crashed, losing many needed supplies

They built a stockade, which became Fort St. Louis He left to explore, some stayed to defend the fort He found nothing and came back to find the same Overwork, poor food, and conflicts with Natives claimed the lives of many One ship sailed back to France The other had wrecked on a Sandbar Crops failed and disease struck Less than 40 of the original 280 settlers survived

He decided to head east to find the Mississippi Members of the expedition did not want to move on They killed LaSalle on March 19, 1687 Without him, the colony was lost A few members of the expedition headed north to Canada

LaSalle’s efforts bore many results: Trade with the Natives of the Mississippi Valley Kept the claim to Texas alive in their imagination It shifted the focus of Spanish interest from western Texas to eastern Texas