Created by Mr. Hemmert 4 th Grade Robertsdale Elementary

 The New World was discovered more than once.  The Norsemen (Vikings) reached Newfoundland (Canada) in about 1,000 A.D.

 Almost 500 years after the Vikings, Christopher Columbus sailed for the king and queen of Spain in search of a water route to Asia.  Columbus landed in the Western Hemisphere in October  Columbus died believing that he had found the way to Asia (and not the New World).  His discovery changed both the Old and New World.

Amerigo Vespucci The Italian navigator Amerigo Vespucci. Picture from: quest.org/4034/ve spucci.html quest.org/4034/ve spucci.html

 A few years after Columbus, in 1499, the Italian navigator Amerigo Vespucci reached the northern coast of South America.  His travels were widely known and documented in Europe. When he returned to Spain, he opened a school for navigators. He wrote a book called, Four Voyages where he claimed he was the true discoverer of the New World.  A German cartographer (map maker) placed his name on a new map published in 1507 in Vespucci’s honor.  That is how America got its name.

 Neither Columbus nor Vespucci ever stepped foot in Alabama.  We do not know for sure the first European to visit Alabama but we do know that in 1519, a Spanish conquistador, Alonza de Pineda, entered Mobile Bay with four ships.  A conquistador is a Spanish explorer.  In his journals, he reported seeing Indians and a deep river flowing into the bay.

 The Spanish came to the New World seeking wealth, especially gold and silver. (Test)  The Spanish were not kind to the Indians. They bullied them and stole their corn. They made the Indians carry their supplies and forced the women to be their servants.

 In 1528 another Spanish conquistador (Spanish explorer), Panfilo de Narvaez, set sail for Florida with a large expedition of six hundred men.  He landed on the Gulf Coast of Florida, but his trip did not go well.  A hurricane destroyed some of his ships off the coast of Cuba. He encountered hostile Indians, and one of his men, Juan Ortiz, was captured by the Indians.

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 Hernando de Soto was the Spanish governor of Cuba.  He organized a large expedition to explore the land called La Florida.  He had plenty of men and supplies, and was well prepared.  De Soto landed near Tampa, Florida with 600 soldiers, 213 horses, and brought pigs for food. Some of the pigs ran away and became the ancestors of the wild boars of the southern woods today. Image from:

 After de Soto arrived in Florida, he found and rescued Juan Ortiz from the Indians.  Ortiz could speak Indian languages and he became de Soto’s interpreter.  In 1540 de Soto and his men crossed into Alabama from northwest Georgia.  They visited Indian villages in Alabama.  The Indians warned de Soto that he was moving into an area controlled by hostile tribes.

 At a village called Talisi, de Soto received a message from the area chief, Tuskaloosa. His name meant “Black Warrior” in Choctaw. (Tuscaloosa and the Black Warrior River are named after Chief Tuskaloosa.)  On October 10, 1540, de Soto and Chief Tuskaloosa met.

 In journals, Chief Tuskaloosa was described as being tall and well built.  When the chief received de Soto, he was sitting on high cushions. He was wearing a cloak of feathers that reached down to his feet. An Indian stood behind him waving a fan of plumes. Image from:

 de Soto wanted food as well as men to carry his provisions. Tuskaloosa refused de Soto’s demands so de Soto took the chief hostage.  Once chief Tuskaloosa was taken hostage, he offered de Soto what he wanted but said the Indian bearers and food were at his village of Maubila. They would have to go there for the provisions.

 When the Spanish reached Maubila, they found a large town surrounded by a high wall made of tree poles (a palisade).  Tuskaloosa, acting like he wasn’t a hostage, went inside a house. He refused to come out.  The Indians in the village began to dance and sing loudly and then started attacking the Spanish explorers.

 The Indian arrows and spears could not go through the heavy quilted garments and metal armor the Spanish soldiers wore (test).  Many Indians were killed in a terrible fight that lasted all day.  The Spanish did not know what happened to Tuskaloosa during the battle and his body was not found.

 People have dreamed of finding archaeological evidence of Maubila.  Although many have searched, no one has found the site.  The battle of Maubila is believed to be the largest battle in North America between Indians and Europeans. Thousands of Indians were killed.  The battle of Maubila was a costly victory for de Soto. He lost forty-two men and seven horses.

 The Spanish remained at Maubila for about a month to recover from the battle. Instead of following the river to the Gulf of Mexico where he was to meet his supply ships, de Soto pushed north and westward. His expedition was not yet a success and he was a proud man. He still expected to find gold and silver, which would bring him honors in Spain.

 De Soto found more hostile Indians in the west.  When the expedition reached the Mississippi River, de Soto became ill with fever and eventually died.  When he died his men weighted his body with sand and buried him in the Mississippi River.  They did not want the Indians to find his body because they had led the Indians to believe that de Soto was immortal.

 In 1599 Spanish explorer Don Tristan de Luna landed in Mobile Bay.

 He came to establish a Spanish town and was attracted by stories from de Soto’s men of large Indian towns.  De Luna brought several survivors of de Soto’s men to help him find fertile lands and large towns de Soto visited.  The Indians did not welcome the Spanish explorers. They had heard stories about brutal white men. The Indians burned their own fields and fled into the woods.  De Luna traveled far up the Alabama River, but the Spanish explorer was never able to locate the great towns de Soto visited.

 The Spanish expeditions into Alabama were devastating to the Indians.  The natives of America had no immunity to European diseases such as mumps, measles, small pox, and tuberculosis. The Spanish brought these diseases with them to the New World. Thousands of Indians fell ill and died. Entire villages disappeared.