Unit 3 Review
European Exploration (1519-1542)
People:
Pineda – 1519 – mapped the coastline of Texas providing a resource for other
explorers
La Salle – 1683 – shipwrecked at Matagorda Bay (looking for the mouth of
the Mississippi River) – sent by the French King to establish a
trading post
Cornonado – 1540 – sent by the Spanish King after de Vaca returned to find
the Seven Cities of Gold
Cabeza de Vaca – shipwrecked at Galveston in 1528; spent time with the Karankawa and other Native American tribes; escaped and walked back to Mexico; his journal told others about the fabled Seven Cities of Gold (Cibola) and serves as a primary source for us today
Fray Damian Massanet and De Leon – 1690 – were sent by the Spanish
governor to east Texas to establish
missions because of the French
presence (La Salle and Fort St.
Louis.)
Francisco Hidalgo – Roman Catholic priest in East Texas – worked with the
Caddo – when Spain decided to close the mission Father
Hidalgo pleaded with the French (across the Sabine
River) to send a priest to continue to minister to the
Caddo
Jose de Escandon – helped the Spanish settle south Texas in between the
Nueces and Rio Grande river – served as the military
commander and governor of what is present day Laredo
Places:
Cibola – legend of Seven Cities made entirely from gold
San Antonio - 1718– first major successful city established by the Spanish
Reasons for Exploration:
Gold – kings wanted it to gain power in Europe
God – missionaries wanted to spread it to the Native Americans
Glory – explorers were trying to find GOLD to help them become legends in
their own countries
Missions:
Mission system – used by the Spanish to establish Spain’s claim to the land – tried to convert the Native Americans to the Spanish way of life
Ranching – helped the central Texas missions (down around San Antonio)
become the first successful missions in Texas
Native Americans – because they were treated harshly by the Spanish they
did not trust the new missions that were built in Texas
Corpus Christi de la Yselta – established in 1682 in West Texas
East Texas Missions are moved to San Antonio in 1718
San Jose – 1720 – mission in San Antonio is completed
Most missions were built along rivers to have a steady supply of water all year – towns grew up around the successful missions and their presidios
Missions in east Texas were constructed mainly of wood (the available natural resource) and those in San Antonio were made mostly of stone (the available natural resource.)
Vocab:
Vaquero – Spanish cowboy
Presidio – Spanish fort built to protect the missionaries from Native American attach