1. The Explorers
Mod 6

2. King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella
Christopher Columbus
Wanted to find route to China and Asia
Trade/fortune
King and Queen financed trip
Queen thought trip could spread Catholicism
Once upon a time there was a country called Spain that sought to improve their economy. Along comes a man named Christopher Columbus who persuaded King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain to pay for his expedition to seek a route to China and fortune. Columbus was an educated Italian and Queen Isabella saw that there was value in his idea of establishing trade with China. She also thought that sending people to new lands in the name of Spain would help spread Catholicism.

3. Christopher Columbus sails
August 3, 1492
Sails to the Americas
Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria
On August 3, 1492, Columbus sets sail for Asia. The three ships that he led from Spain were the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria. He moved south hoping to catch the trade winds that blow from east to west across the Atlantic Ocean. These would move the ships more quickly to their destination.

4. Bahamas
Land in Bahamas, think they are in the Indies in Southeast Asia
Named new land San Salvador, for the Holy Savior
Named natives indios
On October 12, 1492, Columbus and his men set foot on an island they thought was in the Indies, in Southeast Asia. They declared the new land be named San Salvador, for the Holy Savior. Columbus named the friendly inhabitants there indios.
Unfortunately, this name really was not fitting because they were not in the Indies, but had actually landed in the Bahamas. And another unfortunate tidbit was that the people there were already known as the Tainos so giving them another name was quite unnecessary.

5. First Colony Wanted to colonize
First colony: Santo Domingo on Hispaniola
Columbus sails on in search of riches and while doing so was able to visit other beautiful islands, such as Cuba, and Hispaniola. Other voyages were planned and financed by the great King and Queen, but Chris was becoming more ambitious and wanted more that riches.. He wanted power! He wanted to claim the land he explored; to colonize. With his brother, soldiers and people to settle what he was sure he would conquer and claim for Spain, he set out again. Their first permanent colony was on the island of Hispaniola and they called it Santo Domingo.

6. No support The King and Queen withdraw support
Rumored to have been torturing and enslaving natives
He never found a passage to Asia
This great explorer made four journeys to the Americas for Spain, but never was able to find that trade route to Asia. Or to bring the riches he so desired back to the Queen. This was bad enough, but then the Queen began to hear things, bad things, about Columbus and his behavior in the Americas. It was rumored that he was enslaving, torturing and killing many of the friendly Taino people in the Caribbean. The monarchs were outraged and withdrew their support for any future explorations!!

7. Conquistadores
Spanish explorers looking for riches want to conquer the continent
Even though Columbus is done, through, over as an explorer, many more Europeans follow in his footsteps and search for riches and new lands to conquer. The race is on! Spanish explorers hear from others that have journeyed inland that there were riches further into the continent. These explorers want to claim these riches for themselves – they seek to conquer and are referred to as conquistadors.

8. Piñeda 1519 Spanish explorer Pineda makes first map of Texas coastline
In 1519 the Spanish governor of Jamaica sent a fleet of ships to map the coastline of the Gulf of Mexico and establish a Spanish colony. This was under the leadership of Alonzo Alvarez de Pineda. They were the first Europeans to observe the Texas coast, but he had some bad luck. Pineda and his men ran into Cortes, another Spanish explorer, who saw Pineda as competition. Pineda fled and ended up establishing a settlement near present day Mexico city of Tampico.

9. Hernan Cortes Cortes explores continent Searching for riches
Six weeks before Pineda set out on his voyage, Hernan Cortes was commissioned to explore the continent. Once again, this was in search of riches. Cortes founds Veracruz in Mexico. He didn’t get along with the natives there along the coast and word spread about his arrival.

10. Emperor Moctezuma Moctezuma thinks Cortes is a god
Cortes takes advantage
Fighting breaks out
Spanish take over Tenochtitlan
As word spreads, the Aztecs hear of Cortes and his great weapons and believed him to be a god; also, his red hair was thought to be the god’s hair of flames from their stories.
Cortes was welcome to the Aztec community, but the Spaniards did not care to make nice with the Aztecs. Fighting took place in order to steal the gold and silver from the Aztecs. The Spaniards were ruthless and used their superior weapons to defeat the Aztecs. He took over Tenochtitlan.

11. Tenochtitlan Changed name of city to Mexico City
Hernan Cortes renames the city Mexico city, the capital of New Spain. He took the gold and silver back to Spain and made the leaders there very happy. They were ready to look for more riches elsewhere and claim more land and become even more rich and the leaders of Europe and the many the World!!! Ha, ha, ha, ha!!

12. Panifilo de Narvaez Narvaez was granted Florida
Could colonize these lands to Mexico
Explored/stranded
Died in hurricane on makeshift rafts
In 1526 Paniflo de Narvaez was granted the land of Florida by the king of Spain. He was allowed to conquer any lands between Florida and Mexico he wished and establish colonies to govern if he chose. He took with him 400 men and 82 horses and landed in Florida on the Gulf side. As he went inland to explore, he told his men on the ships to meet him further up the coast. When he arrived to the meeting place, there were no ships waiting for him.
They were starving and now numbered under 300. They built rafts with a plan to sail to Mexico, but during this Nov sailing a hurricane plagued their attempts; drowning many of the men at sea… including Navaez.

13. Survivors Land in Galveston Bay Encounter Karankawas
Diseases/conditions- many die explorers and Natives
Approximately 80 survivors landed in Galveston Bay and were known as the first Europeans to set foot in present-day Texas. The residence of the time in this area, the Karankawas, felt sorry for these stranded explorers and gave them food and shelter. But the Karankawas to mysteriously die from their contact with these strange visitors; this was due to illnesses that had never been exposed to before, such as, smallpox and influenza. Their bodies were not equipped to fight off such strange diseases. And reversely, the Spanish were not use to the conditions and began to die off, as well. After six years, only four explorers from the Narvaez expedition remained.

14. Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca
2nd in Command – Narvaez expedition
Estavanico – First African in Texas
With Natives – 6 years
Traveled to Mexico – 18 months
Among the survivors was a man known as Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca, the second in command. With him was an African named Estavanico. Together with the remaining survivors they planned to escape to Mexico and spent 18 months traveling across Texas. They had learned much from the Karankawas and this knowledge helped them as they interacted with other Native Texans on their travels. They became the first Europeans to explore the interior of Texas.

15. Seven Cities of Cibola Cabeza de Vaca
Told officials of Cibola
Estavenico and Friar Niza sent to find city
Estavenico killed
Niza – rooftops of gold
Cabeza de Vaca, Estevanico and the others eventually made it to Mexico City and then to Spain. In both places, he told officials about the native legends of seven cities of gold known as Cibola. Since riches had already been found in Mexico and Peru, they thought that this could be true.
The viceroy of New Spain sent Friar Marcos de Niza, Estevanico, and several others to confirm de Vaca’s story. The traveled to Arizona and New Mexico areas. Estevanico was sent ahead as a scout and he took a runner with him. This runner would run back to the other travelers with a small cross if the cities he found were small or a large cross if the cities were large and filled with gold. After several days the runner returned with a large cross letting everyone know that they had made contact with people who had seen the cities.
Niza rushed to meet Estevanico, but found that he had been killed. He marched on found what he thought was gold rooftops, so he returned to Mexico city to report to the viceroy.

16. Francisco Vasquez de Coronado
Coronado searches for cities of gold
Doesn’t find them
Met El Turco in Tiguex
El Turco leads to Quivira
Supposed to have riches
None
El Turco killed
On January 6, 1540, Mendoza commissioned Francisco Vasquez de Coronado to search for the Seven Cities of Cibola. The expedition included 1000 soldiers, 300 horsemen, priests and 1500 horses and mules, and large herds of cattle and sheep. Coronado traveled to the village Friar Marcos and seen. He found nothing there that indicated that there might be gold, just pueblos. He did not want to return without riches so he split up his expedition. One group went west across New Mexico and found the Grand Canyon. Coronado went east to the native village of Tiguex, where he spent the winter of There he met a man named El Turco, or The Turk – an Eastern plains native. He spoke of an amazingly wealthy land called Quivira. Coronado asked the Turk to lead him to this land.

17. Hernando de Soto De Soto leaves from Spain 1539 Searches for Cibola
Explores Florida & many southern states
No riches
Biggest southern exploration
In 1539, a second expedition left Spain in search of the Seven Cities of Cibola and landed in Florida. This was led by Hernando de Soto, and although he was never able to find the cities, he met natives that shared tales of gold and precious stones in villages nearby. He traveled to present day Georgia, the Carolinas, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, and Arkansas in search of these riches. By 1541 the explorers had reached the Mississippi river. They were tired, discouraged and out of supplies so they turned back in He became ill and died before reaching the coast. In Sept only 311 of the original 600 members of the expedition reached their destination of Mexico. But they were a part of the first major exploration of the interior of North America.

18. Spain Establishes Missions
Spanish begin to establish cities and Missions
Other competition
First city – Santa Fe 1610
In Texas – Mission of Corpus Christi de la Ysleta 1682
Since everyone was returning from N.America empty-handed, Spain was losing interest in exploring further. But when they caught wind that those pesky English explorers were heading towards the Americas between 1578 and 1580, Spain saw them as competition. They established a Spanish colony in New Mexico. In 1610 they established the capital city of Santa Fe.
In 1629, and again in 1632, Father Juan de Salas led a small group of missionaries and soldiers from Santa Fe into Texas to work among the Jumanos near present day San Angelo. In 1682, the Spanish established the first Texas mission, Corpus Christi de la Ysleta near El Paso. The purpose of the mission was to spread Christianity to the Native Americans in the area… it turned out to be a success.

19. La Salle La Salle travels the Mississippi River
At mouth of river April 9, 1682
Named land La Louisiane (Louisiana) after King Louis XIV
In the winter of , Rene-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle traveled down the Mississippi River all the way down to the Gulf of Mexico. He reached the mouth of the Mississippi on April 9, 1682, and claimed the river and all of the land that at fed for France. He named this land La Louisiane, or Louisiana, in honor of King Louis XIV of France.

20. Colony La Salle asks the King for funding to establish colony
Colony at mouth of river – strategic
Keep track of Spanish
Trade
Good soil – crops
missionaries
He returns to France in 1683 and asks King Louis XIV for permission to establish a colony at the mouth of the Mississippi. This colony could serve as a checkpoint where they could track Spanish activities in the Gulf. Also, they could seize silver mines in Mexico with a French expedition and send Catholic missionaries to convert the natives.
Another advantage would be the rich soil, in which they could cultivate for crops. Most important, though, was its position to control trade in the Gulf and the interior of north America.
The King granted La Salle four ships. He brought with him 300 colonists and 100 soldiers to start a new colony. In 1684, La Salle sets out for the mouth of the Mississippi.

21. La Salle faces obstacles
La Salle’s ships raided by bucaneers
Colonists wanted to go home
Past the mouth of Mississippi
Unfortunately, he is plagued with problems from the beginning. When they reach the West Indies they are attacked and captured by a Spanish buccaneer (a pirate of the 1600s). La Salle feared that if the news spread to other Spaniards their mission would be over. Many of the colonists wanted to go home, but La Salle insisted they continue.
More problems occur – the Mississippi empties into a delta (a triangle-shaped area of mud and silt deposits that forms at the mouth of some rivers)
Because of the delta the mouth of the river is pretty well disguised with channels and small creeks; it is barely seen from the Gulf. Since La Salle failed to record the exact location of the mouth during his first voyage they managed to pass it up the second time around.

22. Galveston Bay-Matagorda Bay
land in Galveston bay – go on to Matagorda Bay
Lose a ship and supplies from it
In January 1685, La Salle reached Galveston Bay. On February 20th he sent colonists ashore at Matagorda Bay. Their ship ran aground on a sandbar and they lost many of their supplies. They were able to continue on and travel up the Lavaca River. Once inland, he built Fort St. Louis in present day Victoria County.

23. Karankawas French encounter Karankawas Friendly
They have French supplies from shipwreck
French try to battle natives to get supplies back
Become hostile – they receive no help acclimating
More difficulties plague the expedition. They made contact with the Karankawas. The Natives were friendly in the beginning, but when the French found that the Karankawas had some of their supplies that had washed ashore from their incident on the sandbar, they tried to recover their goods.
Fighting broke out and several Frenchmen were killed. So the French treated the Natives as hostiles. Now they had no help adapting to their new environment. Drought ruined their attempt at farming and many colonists either grew sick or left.

24. La Salle looks for a way home
Tries to find Mississippi by land – many die in these attempts
Finally decides to go home
He is shot on this voyage
Colony is a failure
Everyone (adults) killed
6 children - only survivors
La Salle is in desperate need of supplies. He decided to take a small crew and search for the mouth of the Mississippi by way of the land. He was unsuccessful and was forced to return to Fort St. Louis after losing most of his 50 men. He tried again with 20 men and reached the Sabine, then returned again with 8. By 1686, only about 45 French colonists were still alive. Most had died from disease or had been killed by the Karankawas.
January 12, 1687, La Salle decided to make another voyage, looking for a way home, taking 17 of the 20 survivors. On this last trip, several of the men plotted to kill La Salle and three of his supporters. On March 19, 1687, La Salle was shot.

25. Explorers Timeline 1492 - Columbus reaches the Americas
1519 – Alvarez de Pineda explores Gulf Coast of Texas
Cabeza de Vaca
Reports on Texas
1541 – Coronado leads expedition into Texas
1542 – De Soto-Moscoso expedition reaches East Texas
1610 – Juan do Onate establishes Santa Fe
1682 – Spaniards established the first mission, Corpus Christi de la Ysleta
1685 – La Salle established
Fort St. Louis