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Glossary |
| Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 |
People in Europe had been trading with people in Africa and Asia for many years. Europeans wanted rugs, silk, gems, and spices from those lands. Traders had to travel along way to buy their goods. The trip to Asia by land was long and dangerous. Explorers wanted to find a shorter route to Asia that would make trade easier and faster.
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer who believed that he could reach Asia by sailing west. Many people did not believe Columbus's plan was a good idea. he had to convince the king and queen of Spain that paying for his voyage would be worth the money. He told them he would bring Christianity to the people of Asia, and he would bring back riches for Spain. After Columbus asked many more times, the king and queen gave him three ships, a crew, and supplies for the trip.
After about a month at sea, Columbus and his crew arrived at islands in the Caribbean. Columbus called the people on the island "Indians" because he thought he had reached the islands near China called the Indies. Columbus had really met the Taino people. The Taino and other groups had been living there for over two thousand years.
Claiming the Land for Spain
Columbus claimed the islands for Spain. Everywhere he went, he met the Taino people. Columbus wrote about the people in his journal. He was impressed by their peaceful ways, but he also thought he was better than them.
" They were well-built, with good bodies and handsome features...They would make fine servants...With fifty men we could make them do whatever we want."
Many of the Taino wore small gold jewelry, which led Columbus to believe that there were gold mines on the islands. What he did not know was that there were only tiny bits of gold in the rivers.
When Columbus returned to Spain, he took native plants, parrots, and six Taino prisoners on his ships.
Learn more about Columbus and the Taino
Gold and Slaves
Back in Spain, Columbus said he had found islands near Asia with "many spices and great mines of gold and other metals." He told the king and queen that if they paid for a second trip, he would bring them "as much gold as they need... and many slaves as they ask." A slave is a person who is viewed as property and forced to work for his or her owner.
This time the king and queen gave Columbus seventeen ships and a crew of more than twelve hundred men. When Columbus arrived at the islands, he demanded that the Taino people provide him with gold. The Spanish killed many of the Taino people when they could not give Columbus the gold he wanted. Later Columbus forced 500 Taino into his ships to be sold into slavery in Europe.
Columbus returned to the islands two more times. He still thought he was in Asia, and he never gave up his hope of finding gold.. Many of the Taino died of diseases they caught from the European sailors. Many were killed by the Spanish. There were over one million Taino people when Columbus arrived. Thirty years later almost all of the Taino people were dead.
When other European explorers heard about Columbus's voyage, they wanted to go on journey's of their own. They wanted to find gold and riches. Men from Spain, England, France and Russia sailed to America. They claimed land for their countries even though thousands of Native Americans already lived there. Soon explorers would make it to the land now called America, and life would change for the native people living there.
Creation of a New Spain
A Spanish explorer named Hernan Cortes was one man who was excited about the New World. He sailed to Mexico after hearing about a city that was full of gold. He learned of Aztec ruler named Montezuma who had palaces full of riches. At first, Montezuma invited Cortes took gold and riches for himself from Aztecs.
In time, Cortes conquered the Aztec city and named it Mexico City. Thousands of Aztecs were killed. Like the Taino, many of the Aztec died of diseases they caught as a result of the Spanish coming to their city.
The Spanish claimed a large piece of land that included present day Mexico and Arizona. They named the land New Spain. Cortes shipped boatloads of Mexican gold and silver back to Spain. Many Spanish men were excited about exploring New Spain. Many wanted to find gold. They set out on long voyages across the ocean to explore the land Cortes made famous.
Cabeza de Vaca
About twenty years after Cortes, a group of 500 Spanish explorers sailed in five ships from Spain to the New World. Three of the ships were lost at sea, but the others landed in Florida. Many of the explorers sailed back to Spain. The rest explored the land on foot and horseback, but many got very sick. They had trouble finding food, and the Indians were unfriendly. Fearing for their lives, the men built log boats and tried to sail to Mexico where they knew other Spanish were living. They used horsehair to tie the logs together.
Along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, the wind howled and waves crashed against the rafts, washing some of the men into the seas. Others made it to an island near the Texas shore. Indians on the island made the men their slaves. Most of the men died from lack of food. Cabeza de Vaca, however, won fame as a medicine man. He rattled a gourd and made the sign of a cross. Many of the sick got well, and the Indians bought gifts of deer meat and prickly pear fruit. Because the Indians thought he had special powers, Cabeza de Vaca was give freedom to visit other tribes.
Cabeza de Vaca and three others, including one black slave named Estavan, headed for Mexico. Along the way they met Indian groups who told them wild stories of the "Seven Cities of Cibola." They said these cities were made of gold. The starving men slowly walked through the Southwest. When they finally arrived at a Mexican town, they were happy to be with Spanish people again. It had been eight years since they had left Spain. They told the leaders of Mexico City about their journey. The leaders were surprised to see the men were still alive. Mostly, the leaders wanted to hear about the cities of gold.
