Spanish Exploration

Columbus' First Voyage

Aug 3, 1492

Columbus first departed from the mainland (Spain) to what he thought was India (Asia) on August the third, 1492. Columbus actually ended up landing on what we now know as the Bahamas. This is important because he is given credit for discovering the "New World".

Pineda's Voyage

Jan 1, 1519

Alonso Pineda set sail for Florida in 1519. Pineda was the first to map the coast from Florida to Texas. This is important because later Spaniards used Pineda's map to explore the coast.

Cortes' Voyage

Feb 18, 1519

Hernan Cortes departed for Mexico on February the eighteenth of 1519. His goal was to find gold. Cortes explored Mexico and conquered the Aztecs. While with the Aztecs they thought of him as a god and gave him 99 tons of gold! This event is important because it brought more Spaniards to North America.

De Vaca's Voyage Starts

Jun 17, 1527

De Vaca was part of a crew of Spaniards led by Narvaez. They set sail for North America on the seventeenth of June, 1527. Their main goal was to find gold for Spain.

Fray Marcos and Esteban's Journey

Sep 22, 1528

In 1528 Fray Marcos and Esteban went to try to find the 7 cities of gold (Cibola). During the journey, Esteban demanded food and women from the Zunis, so they killed him. Then Fray Marcos sat on a hill after his death, and claimed to have seen the 7 cities of gold.

De Vaca discovers Texas

Nov 6, 1528

After crash landing in Florida, De vaca and his crew built rafts and tried to sail back to Cuba, but after numerous storms they ended up washing up on Galveston Island. De Vaca then ended up surviving for eight years among the natives with only three of his original crew members remaining. De Vaca was later discovered.

Moscoso's Expedition

Apr 7, 1538

Moscoso, and his original leader De Soto, set sail in 1538 in hopes of finding riches in America.The crew traveled through East Texas and discovered the Mississippi, but found no gold. This is important because Moscoso supported what Coronado said about Texas in saying that there is no gold and the land is harsh. This contributed to a lack of exploration in Texas for 150 years.

Coronado's Expedition

Apr 23, 1540

Coronado was sent to look for Cibola (7 cities of gold). He went there and saw that Cibola was just an Indian village. He later was told of another gold city called Quivera. Yet again Coronado found an Indian village with no gold. This was important because after Coronado reported that there was no gold in Texas, the Spanish stopped exploring there for another 150 years.