About Spanish Explorers in Texas

Not long after the Spanish had overthrown the cultures of the Incas in South America and the Aztecs in Mexico, the Spanish Crown began commissioning numerous expeditions to claim and settle the lands surrounding the Gulf of Mexico. From Florida to Texas, explorers like Coronado and de Soto set out to conquer new and, to them, empty lands. Landless younger (or illegitimate) sons of Spanish nobles, they often came from the austere region of Estremedura, a harsh province that had molded them in its own image: tough, unforgiving and often brutal.

History

Shortly after Columbus made landfall in the West Indies, Spanish conquistadors began exploring and conquering Central and South America. At the same time, the Spanish crown had ordered expeditions to claim and settle Florida and the neighboring region of the Gulf of Mexico. In 1519, Alonso Alvarez de Pineda, sailing from Jamaica, landed on the coast of Texas and became the first known European to visit the area. Subsequent visitors included Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca, Francisco Vasquez de Coronado and Hernando de Soto, as well as lesser-known explorers.

Time Frame

From 1519 to about 1542, Spanish explorers rambled through Texas, either as conquistadors or as accidental tourists. Pineda explored near Galveston and Corpus Christi in 1518 and 1519. Cabeza de Vaca spent the years 1528 to 1536 trying to make his way back to Spanish civilization after surviving shipwreck, hurricanes, abandonment, starvation and slavery near present-day Galveston. De Soto and Coronado both passed through Texas as they futilely searched for a fictitious city of gold, Cibola. Both men eventually moved on into Arkansas and Kansas, neither knowing of the movements of the other, around 1540 to 1542.

Effects

The effects of these early Spanish explorers in Texas were transitory at the time, mostly serving to inflame the local native Americans against Europeans. However, these first few meanderings resulted in informative journal entries, rudimentary maps and some rather good navigational charts of the coasts. By laying claim to these lands for Spain, they extended that empire, at least superficially, for the next 200 years.

Significance

The wanderings and adventures of de Soto, Coronado, Cabeza de Vaca and others helped open what would become the American Southwest to the empires of Europe. Though no gold was found, the area offered large amounts of land for the landless lesser nobility of Spain. In another 250 years, Spain would relinquish these territories to newly independent Mexico, which in turn would lose them to the Texans, who eventually became American citizens.

Expert Insight

Coronado and De Soto are the best-known early explorers of the American Southwest, especially Texas. However, Pineda and Cabeza de Vaca predate them by 20 years. The log that Pineda kept during his coastal explorations, coupled with Cabeza de Vaca's in-depth and fascinating journal of his tribulations due to hurricanes, captivity and eventual escape, contributes to the broader picture of the dawn of the European Age in Texas.

Resources

• Spanish explorers in Texas
• Conquistadors of Mexico