American Journey - Chapter 2

2. European Explorers

Beginning the Journey

Documents, images, and other sources for this unit may be found in several of the topical modules of the American Journey Online database.

"The Hispanic-American Experience," "The Native American Experience," and "Westward Expansion" all contain sources relevant to this era, and users are advised to begin their work in this unit by scanning the "Years" section of the modules' "Contents." Moving down the list of years in the various modules for the period 1492 through the early seventeenth century provides users with a chronological timeline of important developments during this period, as well as some initial links to relevant sources. This is the most direct way to locate documents relevant to the period of European exploration.

Searching each module's "Introduction" and exploring the "Key Topics" sections will also yield links to useful documents and images, and users are advised to check the list of related items that appears at the top of most documents and images for links to other items of interest.

Activity 1
Christopher Columbus journeyed to the New World four times, keeping detailed accounts of each journey in journal form and in correspondence. These sources are rich with descriptive information--and when read between the lines with cultural reflections as well.

Other writers and artists also depicted Columbus's explorations in their works later; several of these sources, along with some of Columbus's own accounts, may be found in "The Hispanic-American Experience" module of the American Journey Online. Locate "Columbus's Journal," "Excerpt from Christopher Columbus: Four Voyages to the New World," and "The Barcelona Letter" within that module. (One way to locate them is to select "Contents," then "Years," then "1492," then the document titles from the list.)

Use the documents to answer the following questions.

How does Columbus describe the people and lands he encountered on his voyages to the New World? Include physical descriptions as well as his comments on the mental condition of the people and their societies. What good and bad traits does he attribute to them? How do these attributes reveal the cultural milieu or biases of Columbus and his contemporaries?
How do these documents reveal Columbus's larger desire to win the natives' loyalty to Spain and convert them to Christianity? What strategies does he recount having employed to accomplish these long-term goals? What does Columbus's desire to convert the natives reveal about the role that religion played in his explorations?

Now go to the images "Christopher Columbus Arriving at Hispaniola" and "The Landing of Columbus" in the same module. (This can be accomplished by clicking on "Contents," then "Regions," then "Caribbean," then scrolling down the list to the two titles.)

Use the images in conjunction with the documents to answer the following questions.

The two images, painted almost three centuries apart, ostensibly portray the same event. Yet, they are very different in style and content. What similarities and differences do you note between the two images? What might account for these similarities and differences, especially the latter? How do the images square with the prose accounts rendered in the three documents? Note both similarities and differences.
How can paintings, engravings, and other similar sources supplement written sources? Must historians and other scholars take special care in using them? Why or why not? If so, what precautions are in order?
Taken together, what do these sources reveal about the way the Spanish conceptualized and commemorated Columbus's explorations?

Activity 2
After the Spanish conquest of Tenochtitlán in 1521, the Aztecs reported that two decades earlier they had received a number of signs or prophecies foretelling the coming of the Spanish and the destruction of their empire. Belief in such signs would have been consistent with the Aztecs' spiritual belief system and history, which was awash with spirits and omens.

Within the module "The Hispanic-American Experience," search for the document "Excerpt from The Broken Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico," which recounts the omens or prophecies that predicted the arrival of the Spanish. (One way to accomplish this is to click on "Contents," then "Years," then "1500," then the document title.)

Use the document to answer the following questions.

What do you make of the omens recounted in the first section of the document (those told to Sahagún)? Can any of them be explained logically?
How do the omens recounted by Sahagún compare to those related by Muñoz Camargo (contained in the second section of the document)? What similarities and differences do you note?
What purpose would the Aztecs have had for relating these omens to the Spanish in the years after their conquest? What purpose would the Spanish have had in believing them?
What do the omens related in the document reveal about the way the Aztecs viewed their world? What effect would they have had on the way the Aztecs responded to the arrival of the Spanish? To how they related to the Spanish thereafter?
How should historians and other scholars view these sorts of documents when seeking to piece together the story of the Aztecs? How might they be used as more than simply documentary evidence? In other words, how can scholars read between the lines of this document to gain insight into the Aztecs' ideas and philosophy?

Activity 3
The American Journey Online database contains many sources detailing the Spanish conquest in Mexico and Central America--what the Spanish came to call New Spain. Comparing these different accounts can provide historians and others with the chance to consider the important role that point of view plays in record keeping and chronicling.

Within the module "The Hispanic-American Experience," search for "Excerpt from The Annals of the Cakchiquels," "Excerpt from Historia General de las Cosas de Nueva España," and "Excerpt from An Account of the Conquest of Guatemala in 1524." (This can be accomplished by going to "Contents," clicking on "Introduction," scrolling down to "When Does the Hispanic-American Experience Begin," then clicking on the link "in their own words." The first document comes right up on the screen. The other two documents can be selected from the list of related items at the top of the first.)

Use the documents to answer the following questions.

What similarities do you find among the three documents? What differences? How can these similarities and differences be explained?
The documents attribute the Spanish victory to a variety of factors. Identify these factors as completely as you can, and explain how each would have contributed to Spanish success.
What do the documents reveal about the values of their writers? About the role of faith and religion in the Spanish conquest?
How do these documents portray the native effort to resist the European onslaught? What weapons do they marshal? What successes, if any, do they achieve?
First-hand accounts and other contemporary sources like these are invaluable to scholars in their quest to reconstruct the European incursion in the Western Hemisphere. What precautions, if any, should be taken when using them? How important is point of view when using these kinds of sources? When using historical sources in general?

Activity 4
The American Journey Online contains numerous visual images depicting crucial battles between indigenous peoples and their European conquerors. Historians and other scholars have used these images to expand their understanding of how contemporaries and later generations viewed the events of the European invasion.

Within the module "The Hispanic-American Experience," first go to the image "Cortés Invading Cholula," which depicts the conquest of that Aztec-controlled city by the Spanish and their allies, the Tlaxcalans. (This can be accomplished by going to "Contents," then "Images," then "C," then scrolling down to the title.)

Use the image to answer the following questions.

What does this image tell you about the relative positions of the Spanish and their allies, the Tlaxcalans, in the invasion of Cholula? Who was more powerful or influential, and how can you tell?
This image was not composed until around 1800, almost three centuries after the conquest of Cholula. To whom do you think the image was originally directed and what purpose was it designed to serve? Are there dangers in taking at face value a drawing made so long after the events it depicts? If so, what are they? If not, why?

In the same module now go to the image "Spanish Invading Tenochtitlán," an event that resulted in the collapse of the city to the Spanish. (This can be accomplished by clicking on the title from the list of related items that appears at the top of the first document.)

Use this second image, in conjunction with the first, to answer the following questions.

Taken together, what do these two images (and what you know about the events they depict) tell you about why the Spanish emerged victorious in both instances? Be specific about the advantages the Spanish enjoyed and how they contributed to their victory.
What similarities and differences do you note in the two images overall? Cover such things as style, subject composition, intended audience, etc. Which image do you find more effective? Why? Which do you think was more effective at the time? Why?
How would historians and other scholars likely view these images as sources? Is one image more credible or reliable than the other? Explain.

Activity 5
Early European explorations of the New World were largely state-sponsored endeavors undertaken for a multiplicity of goals: financial gain; prestige; religious conversion; strategic concerns.

Government involvement in the exploration process meant financial backing and government protection for explorers. It also meant competition among states for the right to explore and to take control of newly discovered lands and their accompanying riches.

To systematize the process of exploration and reduce potential conflicts over new territories, Portugal and Spain, the earliest nations to explore the New World, formulated several conventions about where each nation could explore and assume control.

These conventions are located throughout the American Journey Online database, specifically in the modules "Westward Expansion" and "The Hispanic-American Experience." Within the first module, locate the document "Inter Caetera," the first document that laid out the division of territory. (One way to accomplish this is to utilize the index function and search under the letter "I.") Within the second module, then go to "The Treaty or Tordesillas," which revised the "Inter Caetera" to give Portugal the right to explore within a greater swath of territory. (One way to accomplish this is to search under the title.)

Use the documents to answer the following questions.

What assumptions do the two documents make about the right of Spain and Portugal to divide up the world? About how those two countries viewed their own positions in that world? About how they viewed other nations?
In dividing up the unexplored world between Spain and Portugal, the documents completely discount the wishes or desires of native peoples. What does this omission say about prevailing European ideas about the native peoples? How does it reflect European cultural biases? How might these documents be used to justify future mistreatment of native peoples?
What justifications do the documents present for European exploration and domination of the unexplored world? What do the documents state as the purpose(s) of such exploration? Do these justifications strike you as legitimate? Explain.
What is significant about the fact that Pope Alexander VI assumed the lead in issuing the proclamation contained in the first document? What does his involvement say about the role of the church and religion in state affairs at the time?
The documents lay out clear penalties for those who violate the rules associated with exploration. What are those penalties? How effective do you think they would have been at the time? Would such penalties be as effective today? Why or why not?

Activity 6
Europeans were consistent in their efforts to Christianize the peoples they encountered in the Western Hemisphere. The Puritans who eventually settled in the northeastern United States were no exception.

The American Journey Online explores Puritan missionary work in a personal account by John Eliot, who preached to the native peoples living outside of present-day Boston in their own language and eventually published an Indian-language translation of the Bible. Within the module "Westward Expansion," locate the document "Excerpt from The Day-Breaking of the Gospel with the Indians." (One way to accomplish this is to utilize the search function and type "John Eliot" in the box. The document is the first of the two results.)

Use the document to answer the following questions.

What can you learn about Eliot's devotion to the Christianization of the Indians from this document? Where did that commitment originate? How deep was it? Explain.
What obstacles did Eliot face in his missionary work? Were these obstacles unusual? How did Eliot plan to overcome them?
Do you believe that Eliot was realistic about the likelihood of success in his Christianizing efforts? Did he realize that he might not succeed immediately? Why or why not? How can you tell?
What strategies did Eliot employ to accomplish his missionary goals? Were they appropriate for his target audience? Can you think of other strategies that might have been more successful?
Unlike most of his contemporaries, Eliot seemed committed to helping the Indians resist annihilation and takeover by the Europeans. How do these sentiments come out in the document? What specific promise did Eliot make to the Indians, and what did it say about how he thought of them and their plight?

Activity 7
Spanish exploration in what is now the United States had several goals and proceeded in several different directions. One goal, focused in the present-day American southwest, was finding the fabled Seven Cities of Cibola, rumored to hold untold riches and wealth. Francisco Vasquez Coronado, who led the ultimately unsuccessful search for the Seven Cities, left an extensive written record of his travels in a letter to the viceroy of New Spain.

Another Spanish goal was securing control over the southeastern portion of the present-day United States, a task entrusted to Hernando de Soto. Unlike Coronado, however, de Soto left no written record of his travels, and scholars have had to be content with the account of his secretary.

Within the module "Westward Expansion," locate the documents "The Search for the Seven Cities" by Francisco Vasquez de Coronado and "Narratives of the Career of Hernando de Soto." (One way to accomplish this is to go to "Contents," then "Key Topics," then "Early Openings in the West (1500-1700)," then scroll down to the section "Spanish Settlers," then to the links for Coronado and de Soto. The documents pop right up in both instances.)

Use the documents to answer the following questions.

What similarities do you find in the accounts of Coronado's and de Soto's explorations? What differences? Explain the existence of the similarities and differences you identify as fully as you can.
What do Coronado and de Soto have to say about what they found on their explorations--the people, their homes, the landscape, climate, etc.? Are things as they expected? What is different? What do you think impressed each of them the most? Why?
What does Coronado send back to the viceroy of New Spain? What does his choice of items say about his view of the peoples he encountered? About the purposes of his explorations?

Most of what we know about the Spanish presence in the New World comes from accounts such as those above, written by explorers or members of their expeditions. Many ordinary workers and laborers also accompanied their more famous fellow countrymen on their travels, but little is know of their stories and contributions.

One document within the "Westward Expansion" module does provide a window into the role that unsung workers played in the Spanish conquest. Go to the document "Petition to Spanish King for Financial Aid," a letter written by the surviving family members of a laborer on Coronado's search for the Seven Cities. (This may be accomplished by clicking on the title in the list of related items that appears at the head of "The Search for the Seven Cities.")

Use this document, in conjunction with the two above, to answer the following questions.

How significant do you think Francisco de Santillana's contributions to the Coronado expedition as a veterinary surgeon and blacksmith really were? What other services would explorers like Coronado have needed? Could the expedition--and others like it--have succeeded without people to perform those sorts of services?
What does this document say about the difficulties faced by the Spanish who remained in the New World after the great explorations had been completed? About the uncertainties of exploration? About the need for important friends?

Activity 8
The Spanish sought to conquer the New World in order to achieve the twin goals of Christianizing its inhabitants and expanding Spanish power. Over time, however, the missionary impulse behind Spanish expeditions to the Western Hemisphere lost ground to real-world concerns about national power.

This shift in priorities troubled a number of Spanish observers, including Father Alonzo de Benavides, who supervised the Franciscan missions in present-day New Mexico. Benavides was concerned that unless reforms were implemented, Spanish control over the natives would be imperiled, and he expressed his concerns in a letter to the king of Spain. Within the module "The Native American Experience," go to the document "Petition Requesting Encomienda Reform." (One way to accomplish this is to go to "Contents," then "Authors," then "B," then "Benavides, Alonzo de," then click on the title.)

Use the document to answer the following questions.

What abuses in the encomienda system did Benavides detail in his letter to the king of Spain, and what consequences did he believe these abuses had? Why do you think these abuses occurred? What do the abuses say about the motives of those placed in local control in New Spain?
What specific reforms did Benavides propose to put an end to abuse of the encomienda system? How do these reforms reveal Benavides' concern for the Indians as well as his condescension toward them?
How do you think local authorities viewed Benavides? How do you think they would have reacted upon learning of his letter to the king?
How does Benavides' letter reveal the dual loyalties of the Spanish who explored the New World? To whom did they owe their allegiance? How were those allegiances manifested in actual actions?
Benavides' letter is one of many efforts by Spanish clergy and others to reform the colonial system from within. Explore Benavides' likely motivation. What does his letter say about the unanimity with which the Spanish approached their New World empire? Can the abuses he notes be seen as having contributed to the empire's decline? Why or why not?

Activity 9
Missionaries in the New World did not always have an easy time getting Native Americans to adopt the norms of European society.

Many Native Americans who accepted Christian teachings were at the same time reluctant to abandon traditional social practices that were at odds with Christianity. This clash of cultures revealed how far apart many native societies were from those of the Europeans, and suggested how difficult it would be for the Europeans to remake native peoples in their own image.

Within the module "The Native American Experience" in the American Journey Online database, locate the document "Excerpt from The Martyrs of Florida" by Luis Geronimo de Ore. (One way to accomplish this is to utilize the search function and type the title of the document in the box.)

Use the document to answer the following questions.

1What particular practice among the native population of Guale (present-day Georgia) does Father Ore condemn in the document? Why? What remedies does he prescribe for eliminating this practice? How successful is his remedy?
How is this practice among the Indians finally abandoned? At what cost? To whom? How does the elimination of this practice bring the Indians closer to true Christianity, if at all?
What other evidence does Father Ore provide to demonstrate the success of the effort to Christianize the Indians? How credible is his account of these successes?
The document suggests that some underlying tensions existed between missionaries eligious personnel and soldiers/military personnel. Why would these tensions have existed? Who was likely considered more important by the government in Spain? Why? How might these tensions have jeopardized the supposedly twin Spanish goals of military conquest and Christianization?
How can historians use a source such as this to further their understanding of the early encounters between Europeans and indigenous peoples? What assumptions underlay this document? How was its author a product of his environment? What can we learn from it beyond simply the factual information it conveys?

Activity 10
Native American accounts of their encounter with the Europeans are almost non-existent, a fact that has kept historians and other scholars from constructing a complete picture of the native-European exchange.

"The Native American Experience" module within the American Journey Online database tries to get around this shortage of native sources by including a fictionalized account of an encounter between Native Americans and Europeans. (This account, included in the database under the title "The Ice-Hearts," may be found by clicking on "Contents," then "Regions," then "Northeast," then scrolling down to the title.)

Use the document to answer the following questions.

Compare the account contained in the document with the accounts you have read by Europeans of their encounters with Native Americans. How is it similar to the other accounts? How is it different? Be specific in answering these questions.
What emotions does the narrator of the story related in the document convey to his readers? Would all of these emotions have been part of the Native American encounter with the Europeans? Why or why not?
Does this fictionalized account of an encounter between Europeans and Native Americans ring true? Does it seem logical to you? Do any portions of it strike you as unlikely? What portion(s) of it seem most realistic to you? Why?
Clearly, fictional accounts cannot be used to provide information about events that actually happened. But they can be used to provide other sorts of information. What sorts of things specifically can these sources tell us?
Documents such as this one can provide historians with useful information that cannot be obtained from other kinds of sources. Yet fictional sources must be used with care. What precautions must historians and other scholars take when using fictionalized accounts such as the one in this document? Justify your answer.