Spanish Conquistadors

Transcription

1 Exploration

2 In 1492 Spain had just won a 700 year war with the Moors. Because they had the largest navy in the world, they were considered the most powerful nation. They were so powerful there was a saying When Spain walked the world trembled. This was a testament to their power. Because of the war, Spain s treasury was almost empty and they were in need of a source of income. They also needed jobs for their soldiers. The Spanish sanctioned explorers who were known as conquistadors. These explorers were looking for three things GOLD, GLORY, and GOD. Spanish Conquistadors

3 One of Spain s explorers was Christopher Columbus. He was convinced by sailing west he could find a shortcut to the Orient. Instead of finding Asia, he discovered the Americas. Thinking he had landed in a remote part of the Indies. He named this new land the West Indies. Columbus made four trips to the Americas before his death. He never realized his discovery was a whole new land.

4 Columbus landed on the Island of Hispaniola. Columbus was also looking for gold. He returned to the King and Queen with what little gold he found, and captive Native Americans. He left behind men to establish a colony and continue searching for gold. Cuba Hispaniola

5 The Spanish conquistadors captured Native Americans and used them as slaves. A large number of the Native American population died because of European diseases and overwork. If the Native Americans were able to escape their captors, many were able to hide from their oppressors because this was their homeland and they knew the land.

6 After Columbus discovery, the race was own to claim land for the European countries. The Spanish sanctioned Conquistadors to explore for their country. These men s primary goal was fame and fortune. A Catholic priest accompanied these expeditions. This was Spain s way of believing they were doing their religious duty by attempting to Christianize the heathens in the New World. Gold, Glory and God

7 After Columbus discovery, Pope Alexander VI (a Spaniard by birth) acting as the great European arbiter of the day, issued a bull (decree) that divided the New World lands between Spain and Portugal by establishing a north-south line of demarcation 100 leagues* west of the Cape Verde Islands. Undiscovered non- Christian lands to the west of the line were to be Spanish possessions and those to the east belonged to Portugal. This was called the Treaty of Tordesillas and was signed in This treaty helped keep peace between Spain and Portugal.

8 John Cabot was Italian, but moved to England to sail for the English. He and his crew landed in northern North America around present-day Newfoundland in This was the first English claim in North America.

9 Juan Ponce de León, Spanish governor of Puerto Rico, discovered Florida in 1513, searching for the legendary Fountain of Youth. Landing near the St. Johns River, he claimed the region (and all of North America) for Spain. He named it Pascua Florida ( feast of flowers, the Spanish name for Easter).

10 Vasco Nunez de Balboa (1474-January 15, 1519) was a Spanish explorer, governor, and conquistador. He is best known for having crossed the Isthmus of Panama to the Pacific Ocean in Balboa was the first European to lead an expedition to reach the Pacific Ocean from the New World. Below he claims possession of the Pacific and all its lands for Spain.

11 Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese who obtained Spanish nationality to sail for King Charles the I of Spain. He was the first explorer to sail from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and around the world. The Strait of Magellan on the tip of South America was named for this explorer.

12 In search of gold, Spanish explorer Hernando Cortez led an expedition to Mexico. Aztec leader Montezuma sent emissaries bearing gifts of gold to welcome the newcomer. Cortez matched the description of the returning Aztec god Quetzalcoatl who according to prophecy was predicted to return this same year of The gifts of gold just fueled Cortez s greed for fame and fortune. Cortez and his men made their way to the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan. Hernando Cortez

13 At Tenochtitlan Cortez and his men were welcomed with open arms. After a few months of rich lavish treatment, Cortez took the Aztec King Montezuma hostage. At Montezuma s unexpected death, Cortez and his men were forced from the Aztec capital. In 1521 Cortez returned with reinforcements to lay siege upon the city. Before Cortez arrived smallpox had ravaged the city killing thousands and weakening the Aztec military strength. Cortez demolishes the city and conquerors the Aztec.

14 Part of the Narvaez Expedition in 1528, Cabeza de Vaca was only one of four who survived the expedition. Separating from their ships in search of gold, the 200 plus man ground expedition became lost within the swamps and wilderness of the Florida coast. The survivors built rafts and followed the Gulf coast eventually two rafts landed near Galveston. There the survivors were captured by Native Americans and held as captives. They wandered east Texas and northern Mexico for close to eight years until finally reaching the Spanish city of Mexico City. One of the four survivors was a man named Esteban who will be asked to help led the Coronado expedition.

15 Vazquez de Coronado After Cabeza de Vaca arrived in Mexico City, he was asked if there was any evidence of gold. He reported that he had not seen any, but heard of the rich cities to the north referred to as the Seven Cities of Cibola. New Spain s Viceroy asked Coronado to lead an expedition to seek out these rich cities. Esteban, one of the survivors with Cabeza de Vaca, agreed to be a guide for the expedition which left Mexico City in the spring of It was the largest expedition up to that point.

16 The fabled Cibola turned out to be an impoverished Zuni Indian village. Coronado sent out scouting parties from this location. One scouting party explored the country of the Pueblo Indians around today s Albuquerque.

17 Another scouting party was the first Europeans to see the magnificent Grand Canyon. When the Indians were asked to guide them across, the Spaniards were told there was no way to cross. But the Indians did know of a crossing.

18 Coronado forced Indians to use their meager food supply to feed he and his men. When food supplies became low, the Spaniards became very cruel: Coronado s men torched entire villages and burned inhabitants at the stake. The expedition left the Zuni and traveled across the rest of New Mexico, into Texas and Oklahoma. In 1542 Coronado returned to Mexico without finding any gold or leaving any permanent Spanish settlements. However his expedition was remembered for its legacy of cruelty toward Native Americans.

19 Hernando de Soto -led an expedition from in Florida in They traveled from Florida northward to North Carolina then westward. He was the first European to see the Mississippi River. From there he crossed into Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas. De Soto had been with Pizarro in Peru and had seen first hand the riches of the Incas.

20 De Soto traveled from village to village looking for gold. The cruelty of De Soto and his men is legendary. Spaniards frequently released vicious dogs to attack the natives. All along the route they continued to meet Native Americans who insisted that even though they did not have gold, other tribes farther on did. De Soto became ill and died in 1542, and was buried near the Mississippi River. The rest of de Soto s expedition built rafts and traveled down the Mississippi River into the Gulf of Mexico and to a Spanish settlement in Mexico.

21 Bartolome de las Casas - a 16 th Century Spanish Dominican Priest. As a settler in the New World he witnessed, and was driven to oppose, the horrifying treatment of the Native Americans by the Spanish colonists. He advocated before King Charles V, HR Emperor on behalf of rights for the natives. Originally he proposed to replace the slave labor of the natives with the importation of slaves from Africa. He eventually recanted this stance as well, and became an advocate for Africans in the colonies. (November July 1566)

22 Jacques Cartier explored the northern part of North America giving France its first claim to land in North America. He made three expeditions between 1535 and He was the first European to sail down the St. Lawrence River.

23 In 1565 the first permanent Spanish colony, in what is today the United States, was established at St. Augustine, Florida. It was established as a defensive position to protect the Spanish shipping lanes off the eastern coast of Florida.

24 The first English Colony of Roanoke, originally consisting of 100 householders, was founded in The colony was ill prepared and depended on the Native Americans for help. John White (the leader) returned to England to purchase supplies in 1587, but was not allowed to leave England due to the impending attack (Spanish Armada). After victory, White was allowed to leave and returned to Roanoke. White and his men found nothing but the word "Croatan" carved on a post. 90 men, 17 women and 9 children, gone. Lost Colony of Roanoke English and Spanish searched years for clues about the colony s fate - the mystery has never been solved.

25 The Spanish Armada (1588) sailed to England with intentions of overthrowing Queen Elizabeth I. They encountered a severe storm causing some ships to wreck and scattering other ships. The English used fire ships and smaller swifter ships to out maneuver and defeat the Spanish navy. The most powerful navy in the world had been defeated.

26 In 1607 the first permanent English settlement was established at Jamestown, Virginia.

27 The first permanent French settlement was established in 1608 at Quebec by Samuel de Champlain. Champlain introduced the Native Americans to modern weapons, guns.

28 Henry Hudson made several expeditions into North America for England. In 1609 he sailed into New York harbor and up the Hudson River. In another expedition took Hudson into the Hudson Bay. It is reported that Hudson s crew cast Hudson, his son, and eight crewmen adrift in a small lifeboat. They were never seen again.