Explorers The Spanish Come to the New World
Juan Ponce de León Juan Ponce de León was the first Spanish explorer to land on the mainland of North America. This Spanish explorer established a settlement in Puerto Rico and became governor there. He named the area Florida which means flowers due to all the flowers he found growing there. In 1513 Ponce de León sailed with three ships to look for riches and the Fountain of Youth. He died in Havana, Cuba from wounds given to him by Native American warriors. Vasco Nùñez de Balboa In 1513, Balboa left Spain to explore the Isthmus of Panama and to find a fast route from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Balboa led an expedition across Panama looking for gold, but discovered the Pacific Ocean instead. It took 24 days for his group of 190 Spaniards and 1000 natives to cross the 45 miles of jungle. On September 29, 1513 they reached the Pacific Ocean and claimed all the land that touched the Pacific Ocean for Spain. The world now realized that a vast ocean lay between the New World and Asia. Balboa founded the first European settlement in South America (the town of Santa Maria de la Antigua del Darién). He married the daughter of the local Indian chief. Balboa was charged with treason against Spain. He was innocent and had been framed by a friend, Arias de Avila. He was publicly beheaded in January 1519. Hernando Cortez Cortez was a young Spaniard who went to Cuba to find his fortune. He heard stories about gold in Mexico and South America. In 1519, Cortez left Cuba to find this gold. Cortez’s men fought the Aztec warriors as he crossed Mexico. Even though the Aztecs warriors outnumbered Cortez’s men 300 to 1, the Aztecs gave up after 3 battles. They could not compete against guns and horses. The Spaniards also wore metal armor. More than this, the Indians were afraid of the "god-like" warriors. On November 8, 1519, Cortez reached Mexico City and was received by Montezuma, the Aztec emperor. Cortez captured Montezuma and began to rule the empire through him. The Spaniards made the Aztecs work in the mines looking for gold and silver. This gold and silver was shipped back to Spain. Francisco Coronado Coronado commanded an expedition which left from western Mexico in 1540. He was searching for the Seven Golden Cities of Cibola. Coronado rode through northern Mexico and into what is now Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. Coronado did not find any golden cities, but discovered the Pueblo Indians. Coronado was upset at not finding the cities of gold. He sent his men off in different directions with orders to find them. His men found the Grand Canyon instead. Coronado would not give up. He marched his army east. There he found the buffalo and grassy plains, but no cities of gold. Coronado claimed all the land over which he and his men had traveled in the name of Spain. Francisco Pizarro In 1523 Pizarro led an expedition to explore and conquer the land of a wealthy Indian empire. With a ship furnished by the governor of Panama, Pizarro explored the coast of Peru. He then sailed to Spain to ask for permission to conquer Peru. The permission was granted. In 1531 Pizarro explored Peru in South America. He was looking for gold. With 200 men and 40 horses, Pizarro began to conquer coastal settlements. Pizarro later captured the Inca emperor, Atahuallpa and slaughtered 2,000 Indians. Pizzeria accepted a large ransom of gold and silver for returning the emperor. After releasing him, he had him executed. Pizarro forced the Incas to work the gold and silver mines. He was assassinated in Lima, Peru in 1541 by followers of Pedro de Almagro, Cortes's captain. Hernando De Soto De Soto teamed with Francisco Pizarro from 1531-1532 where they met and killed Atahualpa, the ruler of the Incas, and conquered the Inca empire. On May 30, 1539 De Soto and his men spent four years exploring Florida. They marched northward toward Georgia then turned west. His goal was to find gold. In his journey, De Soto forced the Indians to give his men supplies. This led to many battles. One of the worst was near Mobile Bay. De Soto discovered the Mississippi River near present day Memphis, Tennessee in the spring of 1541. De Soto died near his discovery without finding the gold he sought. 
