Row 1
An Italian sailor named ___________ believed he could reach Asia by sailing west across the Atlantic Ocean.
Christopher Columbus
To accomplish these goals, Spain authorized private expeditions and sent church officials to the ________.
Caribbean
In ________ the Spaniards and their allies attacked Tenochtitlán. After a long and brutal fight, they defeated the Aztecs in August.
May 1521
The American Indians described ______, a northern region that they said was rich in gold.
Apalachee
The third was a North African slave named _________.
Estevanico
_________________ of Spain eventually gave Columbus three ships—the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa María.
King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella
In 1519 conquistador ___________ sailed from Spanish Cuba to the eastern coast of Mexico.
Hernán Cortés
On top of the ruins of Tenochtitlán, Cortés built __________.
Mexico City
Explorer _______________ described their desperation. “It became clear that we could leave this terrible land only by dying.”
Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca
During their travels, they encountered three American Indian tribes; the _________________________.
Atakapas, Karankawas, and Coahuiltecans
Christopher Columbus was given three ships, the ____________________.
Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa María.
Veracruz. After landing, the Spaniards learned of the powerful and wealthy Aztec Empire, led by ___________________.
Moctezuma II
It became the capital of New Spain, which eventually extended from ___________________.
California to Florida to Mexico
Three of the boats, including Narváez’s, washed up on the Texas coast, probably in or near _________.
Matagorda Bay
As a result, the Spaniards became celebrated as ______ among some Indian tribes.
Healers
On ___________, Columbus set sail.
August 3, 1492
An Indian woman named ____________ also called Malinche; helped Cortés overcome these odds.
Malintzin
____________ and his crew were the first Europeans to see the Texas coast.
Alonso Álvarez de Pineda
Only about __ explorers had survived to reach the island.
80
Estevanico’s skill at _________ with different American Indian groups also helped the explorers survive.
Communicating
Columbus named the island San Salvador, or the “__________.” Although he was nowhere near Asia, Columbus mistakenly believed he was in the Indies.
Holy Savior
Thousands joined Cortés as he marched toward the Aztec capital, ____________.
Tenochtitlán
In 1527 __________ led another voyage to the Gulf of Mexico.
Pánfilo de Narváez
This meeting in _________ marked the beginning of the Age of Contact in Texas.
1528
In ____, almost eight years after their shipwreck, Cabeza de Vaca and his companions came across a group of Spanish soldiers.
1536
These expeditions were led by _______________ Spanish soldier-adventurers in search of glory, gold, and land.
Conquistadores
He convinced more ________ Indians to join him and had his men build boats armed with cannons.
Mexican
horses. The explorers reached Florida in _________ and went ashore near Tampa Bay.
April 1528
Shocked by the strangers’ condition, the ________ took the men in and shared their supplies with them.
Karankawas
In _____ he published the story of his travels as The Narrative of Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca. It was the first European description of the land and people of North America.
1542