European Exploration

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European Exploration
Would we be here today if early explorers like
Columbus, Coronado, and Cortes, had not
discovered and explored the Americas?
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Europe Eyes the Americas
When did Columbus sail the ocean blue?
In the late 1400s Christopher Columbus, an
explorer born in Italy, had an idea. He thought
he could reach Asia by sailing across the
Atlantic Ocean. He asked Queen Isabella and King
Ferdinand of Spain to pay for an expedition.
Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand wanted Spain to
be rich and powerful. They also wanted to convert
people to the Catholic religion. So in 1492 the
king and queen decided to help Columbus.
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Land was sighted on October 11, 1492, and the
next day Columbus explorers went ashore. He
claimed the land for Spain and named it San
Salvador. Columbus thought he had reached the
Indies, so he named the native people he met
Indians. What Columbus didnt know was that his
ships had landed among the islands we know today
as the Bahamas. Columbus made three more voyages
to the Americas.
Can you find San Salvador on the map?
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Spanish Explorers come to Texas
Other Spanish explorers, or conquistadors, began
sailing to the Americas. Some came to claim land,
others came to spread their religion, and others
came to hunt for gold. Hernando Cortés explored
areas in Mexico. Cortes took many ships,
soldiers, horses, and weapons with him on his
expedition. He wanted to take control of the
area, which was ruled by the Aztecs. In 1521
Cortés defeated the Aztecs and took control of
the lands in Mexico. The lands included
Tenochtitlán, the Aztec capital. Cortés found
great riches among the Aztecs.
What is Tenochtitlán known as today?
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In 1528 Pánfilo de Narváez led an expedition to
what is today Florida. His plan was to claim all
the lands along the Gulf of Mexico for
Spain. Narváez and about 300 of his men became
stranded on the west coast of Florida. They
decided to build rafts and sail to Mexico. A
hurricane near the coast of Texas wrecked their
rafts. All but 80 of the men died. Those
survivors washed ashore near Galveston. They are
believed to be the first Europeans to set foot in
Texas. Only four of the survivors would reach
Mexico-Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, Alonso
Castillo Maldonado, Andrés Dorantes de Carranza,
and an African slave named Esteban. Cabeza de
Vaca became separated from the others. He lived
for three years in the Galveston area.
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Cabeza de Vaca and the other survivors spent
difficult years in Texas. They were often sick,
had little food, and were even enslaved by the
Karankawa Indians. While they lived with the
Karankawas, they heard legends about Cíbola,
cities said to be made of gold. In 1539 and 1540
the Spanish sent expeditions to find Cíbola.
Francisco Vàsquez de Coronado led the 1540
expedition.
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While searching for cities made of gold, the
conquistador Francisco Vásquez de Coronado made
his way from Mexico up through Arizona and over
into Texas. They were the first Europeans to see
the Grand Canyon. They crossed the Pecos River
onto the West Texas Plains. They were amazed at
the number of buffalo they saw. Eventually
Coronado and his men reached Palo Duro Canyon,
near present-day Amarillo. Men from Hernando De
Sotos expedition reached areas near Texarkana
Texas after De Sotos death.
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The French Explore Texas
In 1682 the French explorer, René-Robert
Cavelier, also known as Sieur de La Salle, led an
expedition down the Mississippi River to the Gulf
of Mexico. He claimed land along the way for
France. In 1684 La Salle led another expedition.
He wanted to start a colony near the mouth of
the Mississippi River. He sailed past the mouth
of the Mississippi River and landed in Texas
instead. He and his settlers built the colony on
the spot where they landed. It was named Fort St.
Louis and was located between present-day
Galveston and Corpus Christi. The colonists at
Fort St. Louis ran out of food. Many began to get
sick and die. La Salle was killed by some of the
settlers who blamed him for their problems. When
the Karankawas heard that La Salle was dead they
attacked Fort St. Louis and destroyed the colony.