E XPLORATION GOAL BE ABLE TO EXPLAIN THE

• European

• Conquistador

• 1519

• Mission

European exploration is the reason you are here today! It all started when Christopher Columbus left Spain looking for a shorter trade route to Asia, but accidentally landed in the Caribbean. He called the first people he saw “Indians” thinking he had landed in India.

After that European explorers mostly from Spain and Portugal began taking over the land and culture of the American Indians. The Spanish began building missions (churches) to spread the Catholic religion to the American Indians.

In 1519, Conquistador Hernan Cortes took over the Aztec capital and claimed the land for Spain. This became Mexico City, the capital of New Spain. Also in 1519, Alvarez de Pineda became the first explorer to map the coast of Texas; he never entered Texas. The first explorer to enter Texas is Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca when he accidentally shipwrecks on Galveston Island.

In 1684, a French explorer, La Salle, built a fort in present-day Texas near Matagorda Bay. This fort began battle for the land in Texas between Spain and France. Spain eventually wins and the French move into present-day Louisiana.

S

Hernan Cortes

Tenochtitlan

ignificance: The influence of Spanish exploration can still be seen in our language, city names and many other ways in Texas today.

Tenochtitlan