Explorers and Spanish Colonization

Ferdinand Magellan

In 1519, he attempted to circumnavigate the globe, sailing for Spain.
His voyage lasted almost three years.
He successfully crossed the Horn of South America through the Straits of Magellan into the Pacific Ocean.
He sailed west towards the Philippines, where he died fighting alongside local natives due to involvement in disputes among Filipino tribes.
Only one of the five ships returned to Spain, with 15 sailors surviving.
Ferdinand Magellan perished during the voyage.

Ponce de Leon

In 1513, he landed in Florida seeking the Fountain of Youth.
He was known as one of the founders of Puerto Rico.
In 1521, he returned to Florida and helped found a colony, but his forces were repelled by Calusa Indians.
Ponce de Leon was wounded in the conflict and died.

Spanish Introduction of African Slaves

In 1526, the Spanish began building homes and a church along the Guales River in Georgia and South Carolina.
They introduced African slaves to what would become the Mainland United States, predating the arrival of slaves in Jamestown in 1619.
The 1619 project that started by the New York Times is meant to focus our attention on slaves that came to Jamestown in 1619. It often dismisses the fact that slavery was present on the North American continent before that, and it was the Spanish who brought the slaves over.
Some Spanish colonies in South Carolina and Georgia, such as San Miguel Guadalupe, were abandoned due to slave revolts and leadership struggles.
Escaped slaves began living among native communities in Florida, particularly the Seminole.

Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca

In 1528, Cabeza de Vaca traveled to Florida with 300 explorers.
They disembarked near Tampa Bay and were attacked in Appalachia Bay by Appalachia Indians, causing the Europeans to scatter.
The Europeans were searching for a river 1,500 miles away to find a rich civilization like the one in Mexico and plunder its riches.
The survivors built makeshift boats and sailed along the Gulf Coast.
- The boats were created from trees, leather, and clothing for the sails.
- The boats were only six inches off the water.
They were shipwrecked near Galveston, Texas in the spring of 1529. Of the five rafts that began this journey, only two of them made it to shore.
Of 242 men that embark on this perilous journey, only eighty survived the raft trip. Of those 80, those numbers would be further cut down after they disembarked at Galveston to only 15.
They traveled on foot throughout much of the Southwestern United States.
They interacted with numerous native communities, learning their languages and customs.
For about four years, the Europeans were enslaved by the indigenous groups.
Four of them escaped, including Cabeza de Vaca, who became a trader and healer among the native groups.
- He traded shells from the Gulf Coast for bison furs and red ochre from the interior.
- He received food in exchange for his healing powers, which involved crossing people and saying prayers.
Many natives joined the four on their journey.
Among them was Estebanico (Stephen), an African slave who had survived the ordeal.
The group reached Culiacan in the state of Sinaloa, part of New Spain, after eight years.
They were unrecognizable as Europeans, being barefoot, without clothing, suntanned, and with long hair, and were mistaken for natives.
Estevanico was re-enslaved.

Yaupon Tea

Cabeza de Vaca noted that the natives in Texas drank yaupon, a holly plant also called casina.
Yaupon is the only caffeinated plant in North America.
Natives drank it in ceremonies.
It is widely available, drought-tolerant, and lacks tannins.
Many indigenous people in Texas are recovering the process of consuming yaupon.
It developed a low-class reputation due to its availability.

Hernando de Soto

Hernando de Soto undertook an exploratory expedition into the modern United States between 1539 and 1543.
He had served as a lieutenant under Pizarro in Peru and participated in expeditions in Nicaragua and Mexico.
He was searching for gold and a passage to China and wanted to establish a settlement.
He landed with over 600 men near present-day Tampa on nine ships, but they were ambushed by Mobilian Indians under Chief Tuscaloosa.
200 Spanish were killed, along with 5,000 natives.
Livestock (pigs and horses) escaped, becoming invasive species in North America.
De Soto tried to convince the natives that he was a sun god.
He stole from the natives and spread disease among them.
De Soto died of fever in 1542 along the Mississippi River.
His men sunk his body into the Mississippi River to hide his lack of divinity.
De Soto's mission was considered a failure, and 150 years passed before Europeans sent another expedition into the area.

Francisco de Coronado

Coronado explored the Southwest United States between 1540 and 1542.
He traveled far into present-day Kansas and is credited with discovering the Grand Canyon.
He was motivated by rumors of the seven cities of gold (Quivira or Cibola).
Survivors of the Cabeza de Vaca expedition spread the rumor of these cities of gold.
Coronado had previously served as governor of Nueva Galicia.
He was helped by Pueblo Indians, but Coronado mistreated and killed them.
His forces kept a Puebloan woman as a sex slave, who escaped and ran into de Soto's forces.
The search for cities of gold was abandoned when only small brass villages were found.
Estevanico, who had spread the rumors of cities of gold, was a scout for the Coronado expedition and was killed by natives.

Juan Cabrillo

In the 1540s, Cabrillo explored the Pacific Coast between 1542 and 1543.
Cabrillo Beach in Southern California is named after him.
He missed discovering the entrance to San Francisco Bay.
California remained unsettled by Europeans for almost another 250 years.
Cabrillo had participated in the conquest of Cuba and Mexico.
He was injured in his ankle while rescuing men from Tongva natives, and the injury became infected, leading to his death in 1543.
He is buried somewhere in San Diego Bay.
Cabrillo's discoveries went unnoticed for many years.

Saint Augustine

Saint Augustine was founded in 1565 by Pedro Menendez.
It was the lasting European settlement in what is now The United States.
It was built to protect Spanish missions in Florida.
The Guale and Pohada Indians had forced the closing of Spanish missions in Florida around the year 1600.
The fort at Saint Augustine was also built to prevent the French and English from encroaching upon Spanish territory.
From Saint Augustine, the Spanish launched attacks against the French in Florida and South Carolina.

Juan de Onate

Juan de Onate led an expedition northward from Mexico City in 1598 with 500 men.
They explored the Rio Grande Valley and established a colony in New Mexico.
Onate served as governor for ten years (1598-1608).
As governor, Onate was brutal, ordering the massacre of 800 natives at the Pueblo Of A Coma.
He amputated the hands and feet of survivors.
Onate was eventually replaced due to his brutality.
Franciscan missionaries moved into the region to protect the converted native population.

Spanish Black Legend

The Spanish black legend is the allegation that the Spanish treated Native American populations more severely than other colonial powers in the New World.
It is considered an attempt to demonize Spanish colonization by the English-speaking world.
Anti-Spanish sentiments relate to imperial rivalries between France, England, and Spain.
It is rooted in anti-Catholic sentiments dating back to the Protestant Reformation.
Anti-Catholic and anti-Spanish sentiments defined early forms of English national identity.
The English defined themselves as being non-Spanish and non-Catholic.
The notion of the Spanish being cruel masters was applied to all Latin descendants of the Spanish.
This ignores positive cooperation between natives and the Spanish in the New World.
It also ignores English cruelties directed at Native American and black populations.

Spanish in North America

The Spanish had a working knowledge of the Caribbean by the end of the 1400s.
The Caribbean was essentially a Spanish lake.
The French and English colonists established themselves at the fringe of the Spanish empire.
Defensive measures undertaken by the Spanish were primarily for protection against the French and English, such as Saint Augustine.