1. European Exploration in Texas
France Versus Spain!!

2. Spanish Explorers in Texas
Early European explorers in Texas were called Conquistadors.
Conquistador-Leader in the Spanish conquest of the Americas.
Expedition- A journey made for some special purpose.

3. Spanish Explorers in Texas
The Spanish explorers had three goals in mind when they first came to Texas. They were called the three “G’s”:
“GOD”- because God wanted them to
“GLORY”- of Spain
“GOLD”-wealth

4. Spanish Explorers in Texas
Some of the most prominent explorers of this time were:
Alonso Alvarez de Piñeda (1519)
Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca (1528)
Francisco Vásquez de Coronado (1541)

5. Alonso Alvarez de Piñeda
In 1519, Piñeda sailed along the Texas coast toward Mexico.
He created the first maps and charts of the coast.
Because of Piñeda, future explorers knew where to sail to get to Texas.

6. Alonso Alvarez de Pineda
1519: Alonso Alvarez de Pineda reached Texas but were continuously attacked by hostile Aztec natives. He was killed at Chila by the Aztec Indians and they burned two of the ships.
Flaying, also known as skinning- the removal of skin from the body
The remaining ship returned to Vera Cruz and reported their voyage of discovery. The gruesome death of Alonso Alvarez de Pineda was described. He was flayed and his skin was hung in an Aztec temple as a trophy.

7. Alonso Alvarez de Pineda
Alvarez de Pineda, the first European to see the coastal areas of western Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas, lands he called "Amichel.“
His map is the first known document of Texas history and was the first map of the Gulf Coast region of the United States.

8. Pineda’s map
Of the Gulf Coast

9. Alonso Alvarez de Pineda

10. Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca
In 1529, Cabeza de Vaca crashed on Galveston Island because of a hurricane.
He and 4 others were captured by an Indian tribe-The Karankawas

11. Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca
While de Vaca and his men were being held by the Indian Tribe, they were able to heal many Indians.
De Vaca once performed a surgery to remove an arrow head from an Indian warriors’ chest!
He and his men were then considered powerful Shamen and were released by the Indians.

12. Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca
Cabeza de Vaca was the first European to report seeing the Bison/Buffalo that the Native American’s had been depending upon for their survival for thousands of years.

13. Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca
In his diary, Cabeza de Vaca referred to the buffalo as “humpback cows,” but later they came to be called cibolo.
There were also written accounts of the Spanish horses being terrified of these “humback cows” when they first saw them.

14. Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca
Cabeza was the first European to explore the interior of Texas.
In 1542 Cabeza wrote about his time in Texas and described the people and land he saw here during his travels.
In the pages of his writings, many Spaniards believed he saw much more. They saw hints of a fabled land of great wealth and riches called the “seven cities of gold.”

15. Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca’s route:

16. Francisco Vásquez de Coronado
In 1540, Coronado was placed in charge of a great search to find the City of Gold believed to be located in the Texas Panhandle
He found no gold, silver or riches of any kind. He only found Native American villages, but refused to go back to Mexico empty-handed.

17. Francisco Vásquez de Coronado
Coronado was determined to stay in Texas until he found something of value.
In the meantime, he treated the Indians horribly.
Coronado’s men met an Indian named El Turco who told them there was a vast city of wealth to the East called Quivira.

18. Francisco Vásquez de Coronado
After searching for months for Quivira and it’s riches, he never found it and ordered El Turco killed.

19. Palo Duro Canyon
Coronado returned to Mexico city in 1542 believing that the land to the North (Texas & North America) offered nothing
the Spanish could use.
But, during his search for Quivira, Coronado found the Palo Duro Canyon

21. Spain pulls back from Texas (early 1500’s)
After years and a lot of money Spain finally decided there was nothing in North America they needed.
But they did discover a great deal about:
the Native Americans,
the had seen the Plains and the Woodland areas of Texas,
they named many of the rivers in Texas-names that are still used today