Spanish ExplorersCoronado Cortes de Vaca

Alonzo Alvarez de Pineda• commissioned to map the

coastline of the Gulf of Mexico and establish a Spanish colony in 1519

• took 270 men on 4 ships• first Europeans to observe the

Texas coastline• established a settlement in present-day Tampico, Mexico

Alonzo Alvarez de Pineda

Hernan Cortes• commissioned to explore present-day

Mexico and find the rich and powerful civilization that had gold and silver

• Emperor Montezuma of the Aztecs thought Cortez was their god, Quetzalcoatl

• Cortez and his men conquered the Aztecs and took their gold and silver

• renamed Tenochtitlan – “city of Mexico”

• present-day Mexico becomes “New Spain”

Hernan Cortes

Panfilo de Narvaez• 1526 – was granted the land of

Florida by the king of Spain• commissioned to conquer the land

between Florida and Mexico• 1528 – in attempt to sail to Mexico,

Narvaraez and about 200 of his men drowned at sea due to a hurricane

• about 80 survivors came ashore in Galveston Bay (they were the first Europeans to set foot in Texas)

Panfilo de Narvaez

Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca• one of the last 4 survivors of the

Narvaez expedition• for 18 months they traveled across

Texas and into Mexico• first Europeans to explore Texas• Native Texans told de Vaca of the

“seven cities of gold” known as Cibola

Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca

1538 Friar Marcos de Niza

• Sent to find Seven Cities of Cibola

• Led the first expedition into the Southwestern United States

• De Niza was a friar, not a military leader and only brought a few men with him.

• Estevanico (from de Vaca’s group) came along with de Niza and was used as a scout to search for Cibola

• But he was killed by Zuni Indians in New Mexico

Returned claiming to see a golden city (really a mirage or the sun reflecting off adobe roofs)

1540 Coronado• Francisco Vázquez de

Coronado was set out to conquer the golden city of Cibola.

• He brought over 1,300 men with him

• He and his men searched for months for Cibola

• They found a Zuni village with pueblo houses, but no gold

• A Tigua Indian named El Turco “The Turk” promised to lead Coronado’s group to a rich land named Quivira

In 1542 they return to Mexico failing to find gold

• The Turk led the Spanish from New Mexico to Kansas where they found a simple grass hut village.

• Turco was executed because Coronado knew that he was lying.

1540 Hernando de Soto

• Sent to find the 7 Cities of Cibola

• Explored the Southeast United States

• Reached the Mississippi River where he became ill and died.

• His men went into East Texas before returning to the Mississippi where they built boats and returned to Mexico

De Soto and his men “discover” the Mississippi River

After de Soto, Spain loses interest in Texas and N. America for a while (no gold)