Mexico, where Hernando Cortez made a most remarkable conquest of the wealthy Aztec Indians and by this rich addition to Spain's claim proved the vast amount of gold and silver that could be found in the New World. After the reports of Cortez's success were spread abroad, many explorers now attempted to get into the mainland and search for gold. Coronado and Cabrillo. Among those who went far into the interior of the country were Hernando de Coronado, who explored Kansas and Nebraska and reported this region as a fine farming district, and Cabrillo, who explored the coast of California (1540). Pizarro. About the time of Cortez's success another soldier of fortune, Pizarro, reached the mainland of South America near the Isthmus of Panama, and, crossing the mountains, entered Peru, a region rich in gold and precious stones (1523). Pizarro was most cruel to the natives, but he gave untold wealth to Spain from this claim. De Soto. De Soto, who had been in Peru with Pizarro, and had much experience in both explorations and conquest, undertook a memorable enterprise in trying to seek the famous cities of Cibola, supposed to be "exceedingly rich and very wonderful to behold." Leaving Spain with an army of five hundred horsemen and many skilled mechanics, De Soto came by way of Havana to the shores of Florida near Tampa Bay. Here he disembarked and made his way along the shore and thence into the interior of the country through Alabama and Georgia. Turning westward, De Soto passed through the land of the Chickasaws and Natchez, and reached the shores of the great river of North America, called by the Indians Mississippi (Father of Waters) (1539-1540). This was near the present site of Memphis. Here De Soto and his followers built rafts, floated down a little distance, and then crossed. They had lost many men and had suffered extreme hardships from the Indians. They rested through the severe winter season, and in the early spring began their march into the interior of Arkansas. They heard of the vast plains beyond teeming with buffalo, but they did not see any of the herds. Weary and ill, De Soto turned toward the south and entered the Red River, which he followed until he reached the point where it flows into the Mississippi. Here the brave commander became extremely ill with fever and died. The Indians had looked upon this courageous soldier as a superior being, and De Soto's followers, fearing to let the Indians know of his death, buried his body in the great river that he had discovered and named Espiritu Santo (Holy Spirit) (1540). Out of the six hundred and twenty persons who had started with De Soto, but three hundred and eleven survived, and these, led by Luis de Moscoso, built rafts and drifted down the Mississippi, still beset by hostile Indians and suffering from a lack of sufficient food, until they finally reached the gulf and made their way to the city of Mexico. This expedition stands out in history as one of the most daring and perilous exploits undertaken in those old heroic days. Spanish Claims. By these and other discoveries Spain claimed all of South America except Brazil, Central America, Mexico, and all of what is now known as the United States, besides the islands and seas along these coasts. ICELAND ENGLAND ATLANTI OAZORES M OTROPIC OF CANCER Line of Demarcation. King John of Portugal was convinced that Columbus had merely made new explorations within Portugal's claim on the Guinea Coast. Accordingly a dispute arose between Spain and Portugal. As it was customary to refer such issues to the Pope, he was asked to decide this question. He did so by issuing an edict in which Portugal was given all of the heathen lands east of an imaginary line that was drawn three hundred and seventy leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands, and Spain was granted all of the lands to the west, except the kingdom of the great Khan. This gave Brazil OCEAN (afterward called PACIFIC) OCEAN O CAPE VERDE EQUATOR AFRICA TROPIC OF CAPRICORN LINE OF DEMARCATION (1494) to Portugal because the line of demarcation, as it was called, fell across South America at this place. Later, a Portuguese captain, named Cabral, who was on his way to India by way of the African coast, had his vessels driven westward by heavy winds, and reached the shore of Brazil and explored the country, thus reconfirming Portugal's claim (1504). TOPICAL OUTLINE A New Route to the Indies. I. Influences on Exploration. 1. Commerce. 2. Religion. 3. Trade with Far East. 4. Loss of Trade Routes. 5. Effects of Fall of Constantinople. II. Work of Portugal. 1. Scientific Investigations in Portugal. III. Columbus. 1. Early Life. 2. Education. 3. Marriage. 4. Efforts to Gain Assistance. 5. Plans for First Voyage. 6. Four Voyages of Discovery: b. Jamaica, 1493. c. Mainland of South America, 1498. IV. Spain's Claim the New World. 1. Columbian Voyages, 1492-1504. 2. De Leon, Florida, 1512. 3. Balboa, Pacific Ocean, 1513. 4. Pineda, Florida to Mexico, 1519. 5. Cortez, Mexico, 1521. 6. d'Allyon, Atlantic Coast from Florida to Maryland, 1524. 7. Gomez, Atlantic Coast from Florida to Labrador, 1525. 8. de Narvaez, Florida, 1528. 9. de Vaca, Texas, 1528-1536. 10. Pizarro, Peru, 1532. II. Coronado, Arizona, New Mexico, Kansas, and Nebraska, 1540-1542. 12. Cabrillo, California, 1540. 13. De Soto, Mississippi River, 1540. REVIEW QUESTIONS 1. Why was the eastern trade valuable to Europe? 2. Locate the principal trade routes. 3. Who interfered with this trade? 4. Locate Constantinople. stantinople. Trace the route from Genoa to Con 5. Why was the fall of Constantinople an important event? 6. How was the Renaissance related to the discovery of America? 7. What did the Portuguese do to regain the East Indian trade? 8. Why should we remember the following names: Prince Henry the Navigator, Martin Behaim, Bartholomew Diaz, Vasco da Gama? 9. Who planned a western route to the Indies? 10. Give an account of the life of Columbus. II. How many voyages did Columbus make to the New World? 12. Tell something of his discoveries. 13. Connect each of the following names with discoveries in the New World: De Leon, Balboa, Cortez, Pizarro, De Soto, Magellan. 14. Give the general extent of Spain's claim in America. 15. What was the line of demarcation? 16. How did America receive its name? REFERENCES Bourne, E. G.: Spain in America. Cheyney, E. P.: European Background of American History. Hart, A. B.: History Told by Contemporaries. Fiske, John: Discovery of America. King, Grace: De Soto in the Land of the Floridas. King and Ficklen: Stories from Louisiana History. |