The Spanish Frontier 1521-1821

Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca 1490-1557

•  Became the first men of the Old World to enter the American West. Survived a eight year trek from 1528-1536 through what today is the Southwest.

•  When he arrived at the coast of Texas, initially Indians welcomed him but after

“half the natives died from a disease of the bowels [they] blamed us”

Early Expeditions into the Spanish Northern Frontier

•  Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca (1490-1557)

•  Francisco Vazquez de Coronado (1510-1554)

•  Juan Rodriquez Cabrillo. (1542-?)

•  What inspired these early conquistadores to risk their lives while venturing into unexplored and forbidden environments?

 

Northern American Indian Tribes & Commerce

•  Cultural exchange among the various tribes was possible through the pre-Hispanic trading routes that interconnected the northern continent with Mesoamerica

 

•  Near the mines, haciendas for cattle raising sprang up, causing tension

with the native population.

The Silver Rush

•  The discovery of silver ore in the 1540’s, set off a rush into the Zacatecas region. These mines produced at their height 1/3 of Mexico’s silver.

•  Spanish exploration north was fueled by British presence in the continent.

El Camino Real, aka the Chihuahua Trail

Villa Real de Santa Fe 1609

•  Founded by Oñate’s successor Pedro de Peralta in 1609 Santa Fe is the oldest capital in the United States.

•  In 1680 the Great Pueblo Revolt would be led by the medicine man Pope.

Almost 400 settlers were killed 33 Franciscans. It was not until a decade later that Santa Fe would be re-settled.

•  What was the relationship of the Native Americans and the Spanish in the Frontier region?

•  The question is complex. Colonist, missionaries, and soldiers were rarely in agreement on matters pertaining to the native communities.

European powers presence in the Northern America during the 17th century.

•  In the 1680’s the Spanish Crown dispatched several expeditions into the eastern part of Texas, worried about the French encroachment there.

Overview of The French Colonies in North America

•  The settler population of New France in 1754 was 80,000, widely scattered over an area 20 times the size of the English possessions.

•  The French devoted themselves mainly to fur trading with the Indians. This

trade did not encourage settlement. French depended on imports from Europe.

French and Indian War 1754-1763

•  The immediate cause of the French and Indian War was the dispute between France and England over possessions of land west of the Appalachians.

•  The underlying causes of Anglo-French rivalry in North America were conflicting territorial claims and competition over the fur trade.

•  The French established a friendly relations with many Indian groups. Most tribes supported the French against the English.

•  English relations with the Indians were generally poor. Only the Iroquois

Confederacy sided with the British against the French.

North America After the Treaty of Paris (1763)

Struggles to Colonize the Spanish Frontier

Pirates, Buccaneers, and Scholars arrr…..

•  European powers had never accepted the pope’s division of the New World.

•  Ships were encouraged to venture for and wide to expand the English and French crowns sphere of influence.

Sir Francis Drake 1545-1596

•  Spanish suspected that Drake’s visit to California in Summer of 1579

would pave the way for further explorations along the Pacific Coast.

•  The Colonization of Baja was influenced by Drake’s foray into California, & the Manila shipment, that needed provisions after a long journey from the Philippines.

 The  Manila  Galleon’s  cargo  was  among  the  most  valued  shipments    during  the  Spanish  Colonial  period.  

•  Forts and Precidios were built to protect the Spanish bullion from pirates that ransacked costal cities.

The Spanish Missions in the North American Frontier

•  The Spanish missioners unlike the Spanish conquistadores tried to give the natives something in return the “Language of God.”

•  Over two hundred years, the Spanish in America perfected the use of the mission as an instrument for binding Indians to the state.

Eusebio Francisco Kino (1645-1711) •  Stands as a figure among Jesuit missionaries  

“Sonora represented one of the most successful mission endeavors of the Jesuit order in the New World…on a par with its organizations in Paraguay, established at the same time” (41)

Brussels, 1827 Lithograph of California