Wesley Dent
Mr. Horner
Essay
December
4, 2014
The
First to Explore Texas: Ranked and Explained
Of
the three main explorers of Texas, Cabeza de Vaca is ranked as the best,
Coronado is ranked second, and poor Moscoso is ranked last. The reasons for
these rankings follow. Cabeza de Vaca is ranked first because of his
exploration, his bravery, his relationship with the Indians and was able to use
nearby resources. Coronado is ranked second because even though he explored
Texas, and was really important, making discoveries that changed not just
Texas, but America itself, he was not as fascinating as Cabeza de Vaca. Moscoso
is ranked last because he made few, if any, discoveries. The most important
thing he did in Texas was confirm, even though it was already confirmed by
Coronado, that there was no gold in Texas. That is it.
Moscoso was a Spanish Conquistador who explored the land
around the Gulf of Mexico. Even though the voyage he took was called the
“Moscoso Expedition,” he was not originally the leader of expedition. The
original leader of the expedition was an explorer named De Soto. They landed in
La Florida (guess where that is in present day time) and traveled around the
Gulf. De Soto died when they reached the Mississippi River in present day
Arkansas. Moscoso then took charge of the expedition. Moscoso did not discover
anything new or big in Texas. From the point that he took charge, all he tried
to do was get to New Spain (Mexico). He made one conclusion, but it had already
been made: there was no gold in Texas. He ventured out into the Piney Woods Region,
then turned around and left Texas with no evidence that he interacted with the
Indians.
Coronado was also a Spanish Conquistador whi explored
Texas with a purpose. He wanted to find the ancient “City of Gold” that Cabeza
de Vaca spoke of and the Indian named “The Turk.” He ventured out toward Texas.
He explored the Great Plains of Texas along with his group. Some of his men
split off from his group and voyaged westward. They ended up discovering what would
be The Grand Canyon. Coronado was the first Conquistador to explore Texas for
Gold. He wrote back to king and queen of Spain of his encounters with the
Indians. He stated that the “Plains People” would hunter their prey, drink the
blood of the animal, eat the meat right after the kill, and wear the pelt as
clothing. Coronado was confused, and yet intrigued. In the letter, it says that
he hunted with the Indians and accompanied them to their village. At the end of
the letter, he says that there is no gold, but good land. Coronado was furious
that he came all this way and found no gold. He went back to “The Turk” and
killed him for his fable about the “City of Gold.” Although Coronado did not
find what he was looking for, he and his group of men discovered iconic
landmarks that changed America, Texas, and the World.
Cabeza de Vaca was a Spanish Conquistador who made discoveries
and relationships without even trying. Cabeza de Vaca sailed for Gulf of Mexico
in 1528 with a purpose to explore the New World. When he got close to his stopping
point, a great storm pushed him off course. Cabeza de Vaca ended up shipwrecked
on Galveston Island. Only he and five others survived the wreck. Cabeza de Vaca
also brought an African American. Estevanico was the first black man to enter
Texas and was the one to find out that they were on an island. They lived off
of resources that were nearby, in other words, they made the best out of a bad
situation. Cabeza de Vaca and the other five, dug the shipwrecked boat out of
the sea and patched up what broke during the storm. They ventured out once more,
but then shipwrecked again and got three of their men killed. Cabeza de Vaca
called the island “Malhado“ meaning “misfortune.”
A group of Indians, probably the Krankawas judging by their location, helped
the three travelers get back on their feet. They gave them food, water, shelter,
and tips on surviving. Cabeza de Vaca and the other two voyaged out to find
Spanish civilization. On the way, he claimed several miles of land for Spain.
This was a big achievement for Spain, especially in the future. He traveled
along and over the Rio Grande River and went through the Coastal Plains, the
Mountains and Basins Region, and the Great Plains Region. He encountered more
groups of Indians on the way. Cabeza de Vaca eventually found his way back. He
was an inspiration to many others to go and explore the New World.
All three explorers were important. Without one of them
going to explore or existing, there would be no Texas. Cabeza de Vaca explored and
covered more land than any other conquistador that ventured to Texas. Coronado confirmed that there was no gold in
Texas, changing the attitude that explorers had on traveling to Texas. Moscoso
found parts of the Mississippi River and explored the Piney Woods Region. All
of them had a role to play in history, without them we would not have Texas
History.
No comments:
Post a Comment