Name_____________________________________ Date_________________________
Early Colonization
District Assessment Study Guide
Christopher Columbus (1451-1506) In 1492, Christopher
Columbus left Spain and sailed across the Atlantic with hopes of
finding a new trade route to Asia. Instead, he landed in the
Bahamas. Columbus opened up North America for European
colonization.
Hernando Cortes (1485-1547) Cortes was a Spanish
conquistador and explorer who defeated Montezuma II and the
Aztec empire in Mexico in 1519.
C abeza de V aca (1490-1556) was a Spanish explorer
who was one of the first non-Indians to set foot on Texas
soil. He joined an expedition to the New World in 1527. The
purpose of their journey was to claim Florida for Spain.
After arriving in Florida, they endured hostile Indians, food
shortages, and lost ships. They built some barges and sailed
towards Mexico, however, he and his men shipwrecked off
the Texas Gulf coast in 1528. De Vaca and his men were
caught and enslaved by American Indians. After many years,
only he and three other men remained. Cabeza de Vaca and the other survivors left the area of Galveston Island searching for Spanish settlements. They eventually reached the Pacific Coast of Mexico. Cabeza de Vaca helped write the earliest notes known to exist about the land of Texas and the American Indian tribes that lived there. De Vaca wandered throughout southern Texas and northern Mexico, drawing maps and recording information. American Indian tribes told De Vaca about the cities of gold believed to exist in the territory. Cabeza de Vaca eventually returned to Spain where he told Spanish leaders about the stories he heard of the cities of gold. This caused Spain to want to send additional explorers to the new land to find these cities.
F rancisco de Coronado (1510-1554) was born in Spain but went to Mexico in 1535. In 1540, Spanish officials appointed Coronado to lead an expedition to find the Seven Cities of Cíbola (cities of gold) because they had heard about gold from another explorer. They wanted Coronado to claim the cities of gold for Spain.The expedition included 1000 men and many horses. During
the search he traveled through territory in present-day Texas and saw several important geographical features of Texas: Palo Duro Canyon, Llano Estacado, and the Caprock Escarpment. He never found the cities of gold, but he was able to tell others about the region his expedition covered.
Rene Robert Cavelier/Sieur de La Salle (1643-1687)
Rene Robert Cavelier preferred to be called by his noble title,
Sieur de La Salle. La Salle received a grant from France to
establish a colony in Louisiana. When La Salle got close to the
end of the voyage, he missed the mouth of the Mississippi and
instead landed in Matagorda Bay ,Texas. He helped establish
Fort St. Louis and claimed the area for the French. This is the
reason that the French flag is one of the six flags which has
flown over Texas. Fighting among the members of the expedition
led to La Salle's assassination in 1687.
Spain wanted to explore the new world for 3 reasons:
· Gold and Riches * New Land
· Spread of their Religion
The Spanish built missions in Texas to strengthen
their claim on the land and to teach American
Indians about their religion and customs. The missions were
built near land that was already occupied by American
Indians. The missions provided the following:
§ Schools
§ Churches
§ Food
§ Shelter
§ Workshops to make various goods
There were problems between the Spanish missions and the American Indians:
· American Indians were forced to accept the Roman Catholic religion.
· Many American Indians were forced to work against their will.
· Some American Indians resented the Spanish for settling on their land.
In 1682, the first Spanish mission was built in Texas.
It is located in the west Texas town of Ysleta. It
served the Tigua Indians.
One of the most well known missions in Texas is
Mission San Jose. Mission San Jose is located in
San Antonio and is known as the “Queen of the
Missions.”
JOSE DE ESCANDON (1700-1770) Jose de Escandon is known as the “father” of the lower Rio Grande Valley because of the settlements that he started there. He was born in Spain but arrived in Mexico when he was 15. Later, as part of the Mexican army, he was sent to Texas to explore the area along the Rio Grande and San Antonio Rivers for possible colonization. He established over 20 towns or colonies, as well as missions, between 1749 and 1755, but the most successful was Laredo.
Important Vocabulary Words:
· Colony- a place that is ruled by a country that is far away; a settlement of people who have left one country to live in another
· Conquistador- a conqueror
· Mission- a religious settlement
· Presidio- a fort that was used to protect and defend the missions in case of an attack
· Villa- a large and luxurious country residence. Villas were built between missions and presidios for the purpose of providing food and supplies to the missions and presidios.
4th Grade DA – Early Colonization 2 of 4