Misplaced Pages

#236763

115-397: The first European encounters came in the mid-16th century. In 1540 the party of Spanish conquistador Hernando De Soto recorded visiting this place. A later expedition in 1567 under Juan Pardo , another Spanish explorer, founded the first European settlement in the interior of the continent, establishing Fort San Juan at this site, followed by other forts to the west. It is thought to be

230-616: A meridian drawn from the Arctic Pole to the Antarctic , at a distance of 370 leagues (1,800 km) west of Cape Verde . Spain received the lands west of this line. The known means of measuring longitude were so inexact that the line of demarcation could not in practice be determined, subjecting the treaty to diverse interpretations. Both the Portuguese claim to Brazil and the Spanish claim to

345-472: A Spanish army up the eastern edge of the Appalachian mountains through present-day Georgia , South Carolina and North Carolina, before turning southwest. This expedition recorded the first European contact with the people of Joara, which de Soto's chroniclers called Xuala . De Soto brought the queen of Cofitachequi province to Joara as an involuntary member of his entourage. The chroniclers also state that

460-482: A base for conquering much of Ecuador and Chile . Central Colombia , home of the Muisca was conquered by licentiate Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada , and its northern regions were explored by Rodrigo de Bastidas , Alonso de Ojeda , Juan de la Cosa , Pedro de Heredia and others. For southwestern Colombia, Bolivia , and Argentina , conquistadors from Peru combined parties with other conquistadors arriving more directly from

575-565: A base in Fort San Juan and claimed sovereignty over several other settlements in the region, including Guaquiri (near present-day Hickory , Catawba County , North Carolina) and Quinahaqui (also in present-day Catawba County, NC). In February 1567, Captain Pardo established Fort Santiago at Guatari , a smaller town of Guatari (also called Wateree ) natives located in present-day Rowan County , North Carolina. When Captain Pardo received word of

690-403: A base there for the winter, called the settlement Cuenca , and built Fort San Juan. Pardo's men also traveled west, establishing five more forts, including one at Chiaha . After 18 months, the natives killed the soldiers at Fort San Juan and burned the structures down. That same year, 1568, the natives destroyed the other five forts in the southwest interior of the region and killed all but one of

805-415: A base there in 1567 called Fort San Juan . Expedition documentation and archaeological evidence of the fort and Native American culture both exist. The soldiers were at the fort about 18 months (1567–1568) before the natives killed them and destroyed the fort. (They killed soldiers stationed at five other forts as well; only one man of 120 survived.) Sixteenth-century Spanish artifacts have been recovered from

920-486: A combined force of natives and Spanish north. The force attacked and burned the Chisca tribe's village of Maniateque (near present-day Saltville , Virginia ) before returning to Joara. After resting and supplying his force, Moyano led the men to Guapere (thought to be on the upper Watauga River in present-day Tennessee). The Spanish and native force attacked and burned Guapere and marched west to Chiaha (located on

1035-587: A free conquistador with the Spaniards to fight the Maya in Yucatán in 1540. After the conquests he settled in the city of Mérida in the newly formed colony of Yucatán with his family. In 1574, the Spanish crown ordered that all slaves and free blacks in the colony had to pay a tribute to the crown. However, Toral wrote in protest of the tax based on his services during his conquests. The Spanish king responded that Toral need not pay

1150-571: A husband. Women who travelled thus include María de Escobar, María Estrada , Marina Vélez de Ortega, Marina de la Caballería, Francisca de Valenzuela, Catalina de Salazar. Some conquistadors married Native American women or had illegitimate children. European young men enlisted in the army because it was one way out of poverty. Catholic priests instructed the soldiers in mathematics, writing, theology, Latin, Greek, and history, and wrote letters and official documents for them. King's army officers taught military arts. An uneducated young recruit could become

1265-419: A military leader, elected by their fellow professional soldiers, perhaps based on merit. Others were born into hidalgo families, and as such they were members of the Spanish nobility with some studies but without economic resources. Even some rich nobility families' members became soldiers or missionaries, but mostly not the firstborn heirs. The two most famous conquistadors were Hernán Cortés who conquered

SECTION 10

#1732848044237

1380-530: A moat that cut through an earthwork mound built by the Mississippians. In the 21st century, archaeological finds from excavations have established evidence of substantial Mississippian and brief Spanish 16th-century settlement in the western interior of North Carolina. The Joara chiefdom was the site of Fort San Juan , established by the Juan Pardo expedition as the earliest Spanish outpost (1567–1568) in

1495-404: A possible French invasion of Santa Elena (an early Spanish mission on the coast), he left a garrison of 30 soldiers to occupy Joara, and four soldiers and his chaplain, Sebastián Montero , to occupy Guatari. He departed the area with the remainder of his force. Pardo appointed sergeant Hernando Moyano to command the force stationed at Fort San Juan. During the spring of 1567, Hernando Moyano led

1610-765: A reassessment of the history of European contact with Native Americans. In July 2013, archeologists reported finding evidence of the remains of the fort itself at the site, including the remnants of burned palisades and what appeared to be the main structure within the fort. There is a small town in the north of Spain called Joara (Spanish Misplaced Pages) . 35°47′45″N 81°43′01″W  /  35.7959°N 81.7170°W  / 35.7959; -81.7170 Conquistador Conquistadors ( / k ɒ n ˈ k ( w ) ɪ s t ə d ɔːr z / , US also /- ˈ k iː s -, k ɒ ŋ ˈ -/ ) or conquistadores ( Spanish: [koŋkistaˈðoɾes] ; Portuguese: [kõkiʃtɐˈðoɾɨʃ, kõkistɐˈdoɾis] ; lit 'conquerors')

1725-471: A regional ceramic style in the southeast involving surface decorations applied with a carved wooden paddle. By the late 1960s, archaeological investigations had shown the similarity of the culture that produced the pottery and the midwestern Mississippian pattern defined in 1937 by the Midwestern Taxonomic System. In 1967, James B. Griffin coined South Appalachian Mississippian to describe

1840-571: A religious homogeneity. The 1492 discovery of the New World by Spain rendered desirable a delimitation of the Spanish and Portuguese spheres of exploration, thus dividing the world into two areas of exploration and colonization. This was settled by the Treaty of Tordesillas (7 June 1494) which modified the delimitation authorized by Pope Alexander VI in two bulls issued on 4 May 1493. The treaty gave to Portugal all lands which might be discovered east of

1955-666: A result of his expedition, the 1529 Diego Ribeiro world map outlined the East coast of North America almost perfectly. The Spaniard Cabeza de Vaca was the leader of the Narváez expedition of 600 men that between 1527 and 1535 explored the mainland of North America. From Tampa Bay, Florida , on 15 April 1528, they marched through Florida. Traveling mostly on foot, they crossed Texas, New Mexico and Arizona, and Mexican states of Tamaulipas , Nuevo León and Coahuila . After several months of fighting native inhabitants through wilderness and swamp ,

2070-673: A series of discussions and debates among the Bishops of the Dominican and Franciscan orders. The two orders had very different approaches to the conversion of the Indians. The Franciscans used a method of mass conversion, sometimes baptizing many thousands of Indians in a day. This method was championed by prominent Franciscans such as Toribio de Benavente . The conquistadors took many different roles, including religious leader, harem keeper, King or Emperor, deserter and Native American warrior. Caramuru

2185-660: A slaved domestic servant in Puebla, Mexico. In 1533, Juan Valiente made a deal with his owner to allow him to be a conquistador for four years with the agreement that all earnings would come back to Alonso. He fought for many years in Chile and Peru. By 1540, he was a captain, horseman, and partner in Pedro de Valdivia's company in Chile. He was later awarded an estate in Santiago; a city he would help Valdivia found. Both Alonso and Valiente tried to contact

2300-526: A small contingent to find it. With the guidance of Hopi Indians, Cárdenas and his men became the first outsiders to see the Grand Canyon. However, Cárdenas was reportedly unimpressed with the canyon, assuming the width of the Colorado River at six feet (1.8 m) and estimating 300-foot-tall (91 m) rock formations to be the size of a person. After unsuccessfully attempting to descend to the river, they left

2415-520: A tool or ally in long-standing native feuds. In one example, de Soto negotiated a truce between the Pacaha and the Casqui . De Soto's later encounters left about half of the Spaniards and perhaps many hundreds of Native Americans dead. The chronicles of de Soto are among the first documents written about Mississippian peoples and are an invaluable source of information on their cultural practices. The chronicles of

SECTION 20

#1732848044237

2530-457: A variety of functions. Villages with single platform mounds were more typical of the river valley settlements throughout the mountainous area of southwest North and South Carolina and southeastern Tennessee that were known as the historic Cherokee homelands. In Western North Carolina for example, some 50 such mound sites in the eleven westernmost counties have been identified since the late 20th century, following increased research in this area of

2645-482: Is believed that the peoples of this area adopted Mississippian traits from their northwestern neighbors. Typical settlements were located on riverine floodplains and included villages with defensive palisades enclosing platform mounds and residential areas. Etowah and Ocmulgee in Georgia are both prominent examples of major South Appalachian Mississippian settlements. Both include multiple large earthwork mounds serving

2760-677: Is now the southern and western United States , and from Mexico sailing the Pacific Ocean to the Spanish East Indies . Other conquistadors took over the Inca Empire after crossing the Isthmus of Panama and sailing the Pacific to northern Peru . From 1532 to 1572, Francisco Pizarro succeeded in subduing this empire in a manner similar to Cortés. Subsequently, other conquistadores used Peru as

2875-428: Is particularly interesting for revealing the interaction between Native Americans and Spanish, who were relatively few in number and depended on the natives for food. In 2009 archaeologists familiar with the area concluded this is definitely the site of Joara and Fort San Juan. Evidence supports documented Spanish settlement of 1567–1568, as well as the natives' burning of the fort. The materials found have required

2990-705: Is the chronological stage, while Mississippian culture refers to the cultural similarities that characterize this society. The term Middle Mississippian is also used to describe the core of the classic Mississippian culture area. This area covers the central Mississippi River Valley, the lower Ohio River Valley, and most of the Mid-South area, including western and central Kentucky, western Tennessee, and northern Alabama and Mississippi. Sites in this area often contain large ceremonial platform mounds, residential complexes and are often encircled by earthen ditches and ramparts or palisades . Middle Mississippian cultures, especially

3105-583: Is the term used to refer to Spanish and Portuguese soldiers and explorers who carried out the conquests and explorations of the Age of Discovery . Conquistadors sailed beyond the Iberian Peninsula to the Americas , Oceania , Africa and Asia , establishing new colonies and trade routes . They brought much of the " New World " under the dominion of Spain and Portugal. After Christopher Columbus ' arrival in

3220-617: Is today Panama, reaching Inca territory by 1526. After one more expedition in 1529, Pizarro received royal approval to conquer the region and be its viceroy. The approval read: "In July 1529 the queen of Spain signed a charter allowing Pizarro to conquer the Inca. Pizarro was named governor and captain of all conquests in New Castile." The Viceroyalty of Peru was established in 1542, encompassing all Spanish holdings in South America. In early 1536,

3335-400: Is usually divided into three or more chronological periods. Each period is an arbitrary historical distinction varying regionally. At a particular site, each period may be considered to begin earlier or later, depending on the speed of adoption or development of given Mississippian traits. The "Mississippian period" should not be confused with the "Mississippian culture". The Mississippian period

3450-666: The Aztec Empire and Francisco Pizarro who led the conquest of the Inca Empire . They were second cousins born in Extremadura , where many of the Spanish conquerors were born. Catholic religious orders that participated and supported the exploration, evangelizing and pacifying, were mostly Dominicans , Carmelites , Franciscans and Jesuits , for example Francis Xavier , Bartolomé de Las Casas , Eusebio Kino , Juan de Palafox y Mendoza or Gaspar da Cruz . In 1536, Dominican friar Bartolomé de las Casas went to Oaxaca to participate in

3565-521: The Catawba and Cherokee , caused many of these smaller native bands to disappear as distinct groups. In 1670, English explorer John Lederer , departing from Fort Henry , explored deep into North Carolina. He described a large town he called "Sara", in the mountains that "received from the Spaniards the name of Suala". He said that the natives here mined cinnabar to make purple facepaint, and had cakes of salt. James Needham and Gabriel Archer also explored

Joara - Misplaced Pages Continue

3680-669: The Cherokee . The Cherokee, an Iroquoian -speaking people, are believed to have migrated into their homelands of present-day western North Carolina, South Carolina, southeastern Tennessee, and northeastern Georgia from northern areas around the Great Lakes . According to de Soto's account, Cherokee speakers were among the peoples present during the late Mississippian-culture era. Joara was still thriving in January 1567 when Spanish soldiers under command of Captain Juan Pardo arrived. Pardo established

3795-558: The Coosa chiefdom at Guasile . The Muskogee Creek people are considered descendants of the Coosa. On December 1, 1566, Spanish Captain Juan Pardo and 125 men departed from Santa Elena , a center of Spanish Florida (located on present-day Parris Island , Beaufort County , South Carolina) under orders from Governor Pedro Menéndez de Avilés to claim the interior for Spain . Pardo was to pacify

3910-554: The Governor of Cuba Hernando de Soto . Dávila made an agreement with Francisco Pizarro and Diego de Almagro , which brought about the discovery of Peru, but withdrew in 1526 for a small compensation, having lost confidence in the outcome. In 1526 Dávila was superseded as Governor of Panama by Pedro de los Ríos , but became governor in 1527 of León in Nicaragua. An expedition commanded by Pizarro and his brothers explored south from what

4025-761: The Hasinai , Kadohadacho , and Natchitoches , which were all linked by their similar languages. The Plaquemine culture was an archaeological culture in the lower Mississippi River Valley in western Mississippi and eastern Louisiana . Good examples of this culture are the Medora site (the type site for the culture and period) in West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana , and the Anna , Emerald Mound , Winterville and Holly Bluff sites located in Mississippi. Plaquemine culture

4140-678: The Narváez expedition were written before the de Soto expedition; the Narváez expedition informed the Court of de Soto about the New World. After the destruction and flight of the de Soto expedition, the Mississippian peoples continued their way of life with little direct European influence. Indirectly, however, European introductions dramatically changed these native societies. Because the natives lacked immunity to infectious diseases unknowingly carried by

4255-497: The Paraná River . In 1517, Francisco Hernández de Córdoba sailed from Cuba in search of slaves along the coast of Yucatán . The expedition returned to Cuba to report on the discovery of this new land. After receiving notice from Juan de Grijalva of gold in the area of what is now Tabasco , the governor of Cuba , Diego de Velasquez , sent a larger force than had previously sailed, and appointed Cortés as Captain-General of

4370-528: The Persian Gulf , the East Indies , and East Africa ; and Filipe de Brito e Nicote who led conquests into Burma . Portugal established a route to China in the early 16th century, sending ships via the southern coast of Africa and founding numerous coastal enclaves along the route. Following the discovery in 1492 by Spaniards of the New World with Italian explorer Christopher Columbus ' first voyage there and

4485-684: The West Indies in 1492, the Spanish, usually led by hidalgos from the west and south of Spain, began building a colonial empire in the Caribbean using colonies such as Santo Domingo , Cuba , and Puerto Rico as their main bases. From 1519 to 1521, Hernán Cortés led the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire , ruled by Moctezuma II . From the territories of the Aztec Empire , conquistadors expanded Spanish rule to northern Central America and parts of what

4600-545: The 120 men Pardo had stationed in them. As a result, the Spanish ended their colonizing effort in the interior of the Southeast. High mortality due to European infectious diseases and warfare reduced the smaller bands of peoples. The historic tribes arose in new political groupings. Joara was abandoned long before English explorers arrived in the region in the 17th century, and the site became lost. English, Scots-Irish and German immigrants arrived in northwestern North Carolina in

4715-526: The 1520s and 1530s. Granted a house plot in Mexico City, he raised a family there, working at times as a guard and town crier. He claimed to have been the first person to plant wheat in Mexico. Sebastian Toral was an African slave and one of the first black conquistadors in the New World. While a slave, he went with his Spanish owner on a campaign. He was able to earn his freedom during this service. He continued as

Joara - Misplaced Pages Continue

4830-455: The 15th century, Portuguese explorers sailed the coast of Africa, establishing trading posts for tradable commodities such as firearms, spices, silver, gold, and slaves crossing Africa and India. In 1434 the first consignment of slaves was brought to Lisbon ; slave trading was the most profitable branch of Portuguese commerce until the Indian subcontinent was reached. Due to the importation of

4945-505: The 1980s and translated into English for the first time. Together with the archeological evidence at Joara, they have contributed to a significant reassessment of the history of Spanish colonization in the interior of North America. At the time of the first Spanish contact, the native people of the area were identified by their villages of residence; they were part of regional cultures, in archeological terms. Mortality from European diseases and conquest and assimilation by large tribes, such as

5060-415: The 1990s and 2000s yielded remains of native Joara settlement and burned Spanish huts, and more 16th-century Spanish artifacts. These included olive jar fragments, a spike, and a knife. In 2007, the team excavated Structure 5 and found a Spanish iron scale, as well as evidence of Spanish building techniques. These artifacts were not trade goods but objects used by the Spanish themselves in settlements. Joara

5175-660: The Adelantado of Canary Islands , Pedro Fernández de Lugo , arrived to Santa Marta , a city founded in 1525 by Rodrigo de Bastidas in modern-day Colombia, as governor. After some expeditions to the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta , Fernández de Lugo sent an expedition to the interior of the territory, initially looking for a land path to Peru following the Magdalena River . This expedition was commanded by Licentiate Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada , who ended up discovering and conquering

5290-658: The Americas. After Mexico fell, Hernán Cortés's enemies Bishop Fonseca , Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar , Diego Columbus and Francisco Garay were mentioned in Cortés' fourth letter to the King in which he describes himself as the victim of a conspiracy. Infante Dom Henry the Navigator of Portugal, son of King João I , became the main sponsor of exploration travels. In 1415, Portugal conquered Ceuta , its first overseas colony. Throughout

5405-501: The Americas. The predisposition inspired a lot of the entradas to seek slaves as part of the conquest. After his father's death in 1479, Ferdinand II of Aragón married Isabella I of Castile , unifying both kingdoms and creating the Kingdom of Spain . He later tried to incorporate the kingdom of Portugal by marriage. Notably, Isabella supported Columbus' first voyage that launched the Spanish conquistadors into action. The Iberian Peninsula

5520-498: The Appalachian Mountains forced the Spanish to establish a winter base in the foothills at Joara. According to the records of the expedition, the explorers built a wooden fort at the north end of Joara and named it Fort San Juan. The fort became the first European settlement of present-day North Carolina, predating the first English colonies of Roanoke Island by 18 years and Jamestown, Virginia by 40 years. The Spanish kept

5635-554: The Armada. Cortés then applied all of his funds, mortgaged his estates and borrowed from merchants and friends to outfit his ships. Velásquez may have contributed to the effort, but the government of Spain offered no financial support. Pedro Arias Dávila , Governor of the Island La Española was descended from a converso 's family. In 1519 Dávila founded Darién , then in 1524 he founded Panama City and moved his capital there laying

5750-459: The Aztecs, the slow progression of conquest, erection of towns, and cultural dominance over the natives brought more Spanish troops and support to modern-day Mexico. As trading routes over the seas were established by the works of Columbus, Magellan, and Elcano, land support system was established as the trails of Cortés' conquest to the capital. Human infections gained worldwide transmission vectors for

5865-547: The Cahokia polity located near East St. Louis, Illinois , were very influential on neighboring societies. High-status artifacts, including stone statuary and elite pottery associated with Cahokia, have been found far outside of the Middle Mississippian area. These items, especially the pottery, were also copied by local artists. The term South Appalachian Province was originally used by W. H. Holmes in 1903 to describe

SECTION 50

#1732848044237

5980-704: The Caribbean and Río de la Plata - Paraguay respectively. These conquests founded the basis for modern Hispanic America and the Hispanosphere . Spanish conquistadors also made significant explorations into the Amazon Jungle , Patagonia , the interior of North America , and the discovery and exploration of the Pacific Ocean. Conquistadors founded numerous cities, some of them in locations with pre-existing settlements, such as Cusco and Mexico City . Conquistadors in

6095-626: The Castilian Crown. For example, Ioánnis Fokás (known as Juan de Fuca) was a Castilian of Greek origin who discovered the strait that bears his name between Vancouver Island and Washington state in 1592. German-born Nikolaus Federmann , Hispanicised as Nicolás de Federmán, was a conquistador in Venezuela and Colombia. The Venetian Sebastiano Caboto was Sebastián Caboto, Georg von Speyer Hispanicised as Jorge de la Espira, Eusebio Francesco Chini Hispanicised as Eusebio Kino , Wenceslaus Linck

6210-589: The Cherokee homeland. The Caddoan Mississippian area, a regional variant of the Mississippian culture, covered a large territory, including what is now eastern Oklahoma , western Arkansas , northeastern Texas , and northwestern Louisiana . Archaeological evidence has led to a scholarly consensus that the cultural continuity is unbroken from prehistory to the present, and that the Caddo and related Caddo language speakers in prehistoric times and at first European contact are

6325-692: The Colorado River, sailed up the Gulf of California and a short distance into the river's delta. The Basques were fur trading, fishing cod and whaling in Terranova ( Labrador and Newfoundland ) in 1520, and in Iceland by at least the early 17th century. They established whaling stations at the former, mainly in Red Bay , and probably established some in the latter as well. In Terranova they hunted bowheads and right whales , while in Iceland they appear to have only hunted

6440-425: The Europeans, such as measles and smallpox , epidemics caused so many fatalities that they undermined the social order of many chiefdoms. Some groups adopted European horses and changed to nomadism . Political structures collapsed in many places. At Joara , near Morganton, North Carolina , Native Americans of the Mississippian culture interacted with Spanish colonizers of the Juan Pardo expedition, who built

6555-565: The Gulf of California coast to what is now Sinaloa , Mexico, over a period of roughly eight years. They spent years enslaved by the Ananarivo of the Louisiana Gulf Islands . Later they were enslaved by the Hans , the Capoques and others. In 1534 they escaped into the American interior, contacting other Native American tribes along the way. Only four men, Cabeza de Vaca, Andrés Dorantes de Carranza , Alonso del Castillo Maldonado , and an enslaved Moroccan Berber named Estevanico , survived and escaped to reach Mexico City . In 1539, Estevanico

6670-447: The Incan silver mines, Potosí was the most important site in Colonial Spanish America, located in the current department of Potosí in Bolivia and it was the location of the Spanish colonial mint. The first settlement in the way was the fort of Sancti Spiritu , established in 1527 next to the Paraná River . Buenos Aires was established in 1536, establishing the Governorate of the Río de la Plata . Africans were also conquistadors in

6785-416: The Lower French Broad River , also in present-day Tennessee). Moyano's force built a fort in Chiaha and waited for Captain Pardo to return. Captain Juan Pardo returned to Fort San Juan in September 1567 to find the local inhabitants angered by the Spanish raids, and their demands for food, women, and canoes. The deaths from newly introduced infectious diseases, endemic among the Spanish and other Europeans,

6900-410: The Moluccas depended on the treaty. It was particularly valuable to the Portuguese as a recognition of their new-found, particularly when, in 1497–1499, Vasco da Gama completed the voyage to India. Later, when Spain established a route to the Indies from the west, Portugal arranged a second treaty, the Treaty of Zaragoza . Sevilla la Nueva , established in 1509, was the first Spanish settlement on

7015-444: The Muslims back to Granada, which was the Muslims' last control of the Iberian Peninsula. The marriage between Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabel of Castile resulted in joint rule by the spouses of the two kingdoms, honoured as the "Catholic Monarchs" by Pope Alexander VI. Together, the Crown Kings saw about the fall of Granada, victory over the Muslim minority, and expulsion or forcibly converted Jews and non-Christians to turn Iberia into

SECTION 60

#1732848044237

7130-415: The Upper Catawba Valley. The evidence suggested that the Berry Site is the location of Joara and Fort San Juan. The archaeological site has demonstrated the extent to which the Spanish attempted to establish a colonial foothold in the interior of the Southeast. The evidence of the five Spanish forts further west, near other towns, have not yet been discovered. Further excavations at the Berry site throughout

7245-720: The area), with notable exceptions being Natchez communities. These maintained Mississippian cultural practices into the 18th century. A number of cultural traits are recognized as being characteristic of the Mississippians. Although not all Mississippian peoples practiced all of the following activities, they were distinct from their ancestors in the adoption of some or all of these traits. The Mississippians had no writing system or stone architecture. They worked naturally occurring metal deposits, such as hammering and annealing copper for ritual objects such as Mississippian copper plates and other decorations, but did not smelt iron or practice bronze metallurgy . The Mississippian stage

7360-422: The area, defeated by the difficult terrain and torrid weather. Mississippian culture The Mississippian culture were collections of Native American societies that flourished in what is now the Midwestern , Eastern , and Southeastern United States from approximately 800 to 1600, varying regionally. It was known for building large, earthen platform mounds , and often other shaped mounds as well. It

7475-688: The basis for the exploration of South America's west coast and the subsequent conquest of Peru . Dávila was a soldier in wars against Moors at Granada in Spain, and in North Africa, under Pedro Navarro intervening in the Conquest of Oran . At the age of nearly seventy years he was made commander in 1514 by Ferdinand of the largest Spanish expedition. Dávila sent Gil González Dávila to explore northward, and Pedro de Alvarado to explore Guatemala . In 1524 he sent another expedition with Francisco Hernández de Córdoba , executed there in 1526 by Dávila, by then aged over 85. Dávila's daughters married Rodrigo de Contreras and conquistador of Florida and Mississippi,

7590-437: The battlefield but also to serve as interpreters, informants, servants, teachers, physicians, and scribes. India Catalina and Malintzin were Native American women slaves who were forced to work for the Spaniards. Castilian law prohibited foreigners and non-Catholics from settling in the New World. However, not all conquistadors were Castilian. Many foreigners Hispanicised their names and/or converted to Catholicism to serve

7705-404: The capital of the Aztec Empire. The fall of Tenochtitlan marks the beginning of Spanish rule in central Mexico, and they established their capital of Mexico City on the ruins of Tenochtitlan. The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire was one of the most significant events in world history. In 1516, Juan Díaz de Solís , discovered the estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and

7820-427: The direct ancestors of the modern Caddo Nation of Oklahoma . The climate in this area was drier than areas in the eastern woodlands, hindering maize production, and the lower population on the plains to the west may have meant fewer neighboring competing chiefdoms to contend with. Major sites such as Spiro and the Battle Mound Site are in the Arkansas River and Red River Valleys, the largest and most fertile of

7935-419: The early conquest campaigns in the Caribbean and Mexico. In the 1500s there were enslaved black and free black sailors on Spanish ships crossing the Atlantic and developing new routes of conquest and trade in the Americas. After 1521, the wealth and credit generated by the acquisition of the Aztec Empire funded auxiliary forces of black conquistadors that could number as many as five hundred. Spaniards recognized

8050-522: The entire area from Fort Henry in 1671, and described this town as "Sarrah". Scholars believe they were referring to a village likely several miles to the east of the original Joara. By the time most English , Moravian , Scots-Irish , and German settlers arrived in the area in the mid to late-18th century, Joara and many of the other ancient native towns in the region had been abandoned. The sites became overgrown and remains of structures and mounds were hidden. But further west in North Carolina and across

8165-420: The evolving understanding of the peoples of the Southeast. South Appalachian Mississippian area sites are distributed across a contiguous area including Alabama, Georgia, northern Florida, South Carolina, central and western North Carolina, and Tennessee. Chronologically this area became influenced by Mississippian culture later than the Middle Mississippian area (about 1000 as compared to 800) to its northwest. It

8280-435: The first Adelantado of Cuba , Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar founded the island's first Spanish settlement at Baracoa; other towns soon followed, including Havana , which was founded in 1515. After he pacified Hispaniola , where the native Indians had revolted against the administration of governor Nicolás de Ovando , Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar led the conquest of Cuba in 1511 under orders from Viceroy Diego Columbus and

8395-485: The first circumnavigation of the world by Ferdinand Magellan in 1521, expeditions led by conquistadors in the 16th century established trading routes linking Europe with all these areas. The Age of Discovery was hallmarked in 1519, shortly after the European discovery of the Americas, when Hernán Cortés began his conquest of the Aztec Empire. As the Spaniards, motivated by gold and fame, established relations and war with

8510-646: The first and the largest of the six forts that Pardo established in his attempt to establish an overland road to the silver mines of Mexico. At the time, the Spanish mistakenly believed that the Appalachian Mountains were the same as a range running through central Mexico. After about eighteen months, all but one of the Spanish troops at the six forts were killed by the indigenous people of the area. Pardo had already left and survived to return to Spain. The Spanish made no other attempts at settlement in this interior. British-related colonization did not begin here until

8625-590: The first time: from Africa and Eurasia to the Americas and vice versa . The spread of Old World diseases , including smallpox , influenza , and typhus , led to the deaths of many indigenous inhabitants of the New World . In the 16th century, perhaps 240,000 Spaniards entered American ports. By the late 16th century, gold and silver imports from the Americas provided one-fifth of Spain's total budget. Contrary to popular belief, many conquistadors were not trained warriors, but mostly artisans, lesser nobility or farmers seeking an opportunity to advance themselves in

8740-561: The indigenous Muisca , and establishing the New Kingdom of Granada , which almost two centuries would be a viceroyalty. Jiménez de Quesada also founded the capital of Colombia, Santafé de Bogotá . Juan Díaz de Solís arrived again to the renamed Río de la Plata , literally river of the silver, after the Incan conquest. He sought a way to transport the Potosi's silver to Europe. For a long time due to

8855-552: The interior of what is now North Carolina. This was 40 years before the English settlement at Jamestown and nearly 20 years before their " Lost Colony " at Roanoke Island . Located northwest of present-day Morganton , seat of Burke County, the site has been excavated since the early 2000s, in portions, by the Upper Catawba Valley Archaeology Project. Regular open houses and educational events are held for

8970-466: The island of Jamaica , which the Spaniards called Isla de Santiago . The capital was in an unhealthy location and consequently moved around 1534 to the place they called "Villa de Santiago de la Vega", later named Spanish Town , in present-day Saint Catherine Parish . After first landing on " Guanahani " in the Bahamas , Columbus found the island which he called "Isla Juana", later named Cuba. In 1511,

9085-498: The later 18th century. Joara is thought to have been settled some time after AD 1000 by people of the Mississippian culture era, who built an earthwork mound at the site. It was developed on the west bank of Upper Creek and within sight of Table Rock, a dominant geographical feature of the area. The Joara natives comprised the eastern extent of Mississippian culture, which was centered in the Mississippi and Ohio river valleys. By

9200-635: The latter. The Spanish fishery in Terranova declined over conflicts between Spain and other European powers during the late 16th and early 17th centuries. In 1524, the Portuguese Estêvão Gomes , who had sailed in Ferdinand Magellan 's fleet, explored Nova Scotia, sailing South through Maine, where he entered New York Harbor and the Hudson River and eventually reached Florida in August 1525. As

9315-738: The majority of the American Indian nations living in this region when European trade began. The historic and modern day American Indian nations believed to have descended from the overarching Mississippian culture include: the Alabama , Apalachee , Arikara , Caddo , Chickasaw , Catawba , Choctaw , Muscogee Creek , Guale , Hitchiti , Ho-Chunk , Houma , Iowa , Kansa , Koroas , Missouria , Mobilian , Natchez , Omaha , Osage (possibly), Otoe , Pawnee , Ponca , Quapaw (possibly), Seminole (broad origins), Taensas , Tunicas , Yamasee , Yazoos , and Yuchi . Scholars have studied

9430-503: The many Caddoan languages . These languages once had a broad geographic distribution, but many are now extinct. The modern languages in the Caddoan family include Caddo and Pawnee . Hernando de Soto led an expedition into the area in the early 1540s, he encountered several native groups now thought to have been Caddoan. Composed of many tribes, the Caddo were organized into three confederacies,

9545-492: The mid-to late 18th century. In the late 20th century, a Spanish account of the Pardo expedition was rediscovered and newly translated in English. Based on it, excavations were undertaken in this area of Burke County beginning in the 1990s. After discovery of both European and Mississippian artifacts at this site in 2008, on July 22, 2013, archeologists announced having found evidence of the remains of Fort San Juan at Joara, including

9660-467: The mound is now recognizable only as a two-foot rise in the field, but current owners vow to protect the site. During the 1960s and 1970s, several archaeological surveys were conducted in Burke County to determine possible locations of Joara and Fort San Juan. By the 1980s, archaeologists had reduced the number of possible locations and began limited excavations. These surveys and excavations showed that

9775-569: The mountains in Tennessee, the Cherokee had continued to occupy many Mississippian culture towns, such as Nikwasi, Too-Cowee, Kituwa, and Chota. Although the sites of Joara and Fort San Juan were forgotten, local inhabitants found numerous native artifacts in certain areas of the upper Catawba River Valley. Unlike areas in which earthwork mounds were recognized and protected, during the early 1950s farmers bulldozed Joara's twelve-foot-high earthen platform mound to make way for cultivation. The location of

9890-820: The native inhabitants, convert them to Catholicism , and establish a route to Spanish silver mines near Zacatecas , Mexico . The Spanish thought Santa Elena was much closer to the mines than it actually was, and confused the Appalachian Mountains with a range in central Mexico. To stay close to food sources on their journey through the foothills, the Spanish traveled northwest from the coast where there were friendly natives who would help to feed them. The small Spanish force stopped at Otari (near present-day Charlotte , Mecklenburg County , North Carolina) and Yssa (near present-day Denver , Lincoln County ), before arriving at Joara (in present-day Burke County). Captain Pardo and his men reached Joara in January 1567. He renamed it Cuenca after his hometown of Cuenca, Spain . Snow in

10005-418: The native population had burned the six Spanish forts established by Juan Pardo and killed all but one of the 120 Spanish men stationed in those garrisons. Pardo never returned to the area, and Spain ended all attempts to conquer and colonize the southeastern interior. Captain Pardo's narrative of his travels, settlement at Joara and founding of five other forts, written by his scribe Bandera, were discovered in

10120-826: The new world since they had limited opportunities in Spain. A few also had crude firearms known as arquebuses . Their units ( compañia ) would often specialize in forms of combat that required long periods of training that were too costly for informal groups. Their armies were mostly composed of Spanish troops, as well as soldiers from other parts of Europe and Africa. Native allied troops were largely infantry equipped with armament and armour that varied geographically. Some groups consisted of young men without military experience, Catholic clergy who helped with administrative duties, and soldiers with military training. These native forces often included African slaves and Native Americans, some of whom were also slaves. They were not only made to fight in

10235-470: The northern lands of New Spain in 1540–1542. Francisco Vázquez de Coronado reached Quivira in central Kansas. Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo explored the western coastline of Alta California in 1542–1543. Vázquez de Coronado's 1540–1542 expedition began as a search for the fabled Cities of Gold, but after learning from natives in New Mexico of a large river to the west, he sent García López de Cárdenas to lead

10350-486: The northwest of Hispaniola . Juan Ponce de León equipped three ships with at least 200 men at his own expense and set out from Puerto Rico on 4 March 1513 to Florida and surrounding coastal area. Another early motive was the search for the Seven Cities of Gold , or "Cibola", rumoured to have been built by Native Americans somewhere in the desert Southwest. In 1536 Francisco de Ulloa , the first documented European to reach

10465-589: The other to make an agreement about Valiente's manumission and send Alonso his awarded money. They were never able to reach each other and Valiente died in 1553 in the Battle of Tucapel. Other black conquistadors include Pedro Fulupo, Juan Bardales, Antonio Pérez, and Juan Portugués. Pedro Fulupo was a black slave that fought in Costa Rica. Juan Bardales was an African slave that fought in Honduras and Panama. For his service he

10580-504: The party reached Apalachee Bay with 242 men. They believed they were near other Spaniards in Mexico, but there was in fact 1500 miles of coast between them. They followed the coast westward, until they reached the mouth of the Mississippi River near to Galveston Island . Later they were enslaved for a few years by various Native American tribes of the upper Gulf Coast . They continued through Coahuila and Nueva Vizcaya ; then down

10695-476: The public during the summer excavation season. Established about AD 1000, Joara was the largest Mississippian-culture settlement within the current boundaries of North Carolina. In 1540 a party of Spanish conquistador Hernando De Soto recorded encountering the people at this chiefdom site. De Soto's 1540 expedition also noted the Chalaque people in the area near Joara. Chalaque is believed by scholars to refer to

10810-459: The queen claimed political dominion at this time over Joara province as well as the province of Chalaque , believed to refer to the Cherokee. The natives in both places respected her office. She managed to escape from the Spanish after reaching Joara. The Spanish departed to continue their exploration, crossing westward over the Blue Ridge into present-day eastern Tennessee. They recorded visiting

10925-504: The records of Hernando de Soto 's expedition of 1539–1543 to learn of his contacts with Mississippians, as he traveled through their villages of the Southeast. He visited many villages, in some cases staying for a month or longer. The list of sites and peoples visited by the Hernando de Soto Expedition chronicles those villages. Some encounters were violent, while others were relatively peaceful. In some cases, de Soto seems to have been used as

11040-635: The service of the Portuguese Crown led numerous conquests and visits in the name of the Portuguese Empire across South America and Africa , going "anticlockwise" along the continent's coast right up to the Red Sea , as well as commercial colonies in Asia, founding the origins of modern Portuguese-speaking world . Notable Portuguese conquistadors include Afonso de Albuquerque who led conquests across India ,

11155-533: The site, marking the first European colonization in the interior of what became the United States. By the time more documentary accounts were being written, the Mississippian way of life had changed irrevocably. Some groups maintained an oral tradition link to their mound-building past, such as the late 19th-century Cherokee . Other Native American groups, having migrated many hundreds of miles and lost their elders to diseases, did not know their ancestors had built

11270-569: The slaves as early as 1441, the kingdom of Portugal was able to establish a number of population of slaves throughout the Iberia due to its slave markets' dominance within Europe. Before the Age of Conquest began, the continental Europe already associated darker skin color with slave-class, attributing to the slaves of African origins. This sentiment traveled with the conquistadors when they began their explorations into

11385-489: The tax because of his service. Toral died a veteran of three transatlantic voyages and two Conquest expeditions, a man who had successfully petitioned the great Spanish King, walked the streets of Lisbon, Seville, and Mexico City, and helped found a capital city in the Americas. Juan Valiente was born in West Africa and purchased by Portuguese traders from African slavers. Around 1530 he was purchased by Alonso Valiente to be

11500-540: The term Xualla with the modern Qualla Boundary and thought it was Cherokee. Most modern scholars no longer believe this because historically, the French Broad River is thought to be the eastern boundary for the Cherokee in North Carolina. But anthropologist Charles M. Hudson alone argues that Joara may be a Cherokee name. Excavations have shown that the site was not Cherokee. In 1540, Hernando de Soto led

11615-419: The time of the first European contact by the Spanish with Native Americans in the foothills of the southern Appalachians , Joara had already grown to be the largest Mississippian-culture settlement in present-day North Carolina. The town served as the political center of a regional chiefdom that controlled many of the surrounding native settlements. Most contemporary scholars, following John Swanton , connect

11730-450: The upper Catawba River Valley did have a sizable native population during the 14th to 16th centuries. In 1986, a breakthrough occurred at the Berry excavation site (named for the family who own the property). Archaeologists discovered 16th-century Spanish artifacts. This evidence, supported by Bandera's recently rediscovered 16th-century narrative, caused a reevaluation of Pardo's route through

11845-577: The value of these fighters. One of the black conquistadors who fought against the Aztecs and survived the destruction of their empire was Juan Garrido . Born in Africa, Garrido lived as a young slave in Portugal before being sold to a Spaniard and acquiring his freedom fighting in the conquests of Puerto Rico, Cuba, and other islands. He fought as a free servant or auxiliary, participating in Spanish expeditions to other parts of Mexico (including Baja California) in

11960-492: The various spellings of Joara with the Cheraw , a Siouan language -speaking people who later inhabited this region. Cofitachequi , in southeast South Carolina, and the competitor Coosa chiefdoms in present-day northwest Georgia were developed by ancestral Muskogean -speaking groups, who apparently claimed other areas as tributary. The Muscogee, or Creek people , are their descendants. The scholar T.H. Lewis at first associated

12075-520: The waterways in the Caddoan region, where maize agriculture would have been the most productive. The sites generally lacked wooden palisade fortifications often found in the major Middle Mississippian towns. Living on the western edge of the Mississippian world, the Caddoans may have faced fewer military threats from their neighbors. Their societies may also have had a somewhat lower level of social stratification . The Caddoan people were speakers of one of

12190-825: Was Wenceslao Linck, Ferdinand Konščak , was Fernando Consag, Amerigo Vespucci was Américo Vespucio, and the Portuguese Aleixo Garcia was known as Alejo García in the Castilian army. The origin of many people in mixed expeditions was not always distinguished. Various occupations, such as sailors, fishermen, soldiers and nobles employed different languages (even from unrelated language groups), so that crew and settlers of Iberian empires recorded as Galicians from Spain were actually using Portuguese, Basque, Catalan, Italian and Languedoc languages, which were wrongly identified. Castilian law banned Spanish women from travelling to America unless they were married and accompanied by

12305-572: Was a Portuguese settler in the Tupinambá Indians. Gonzalo Guerrero was a Maya war leader for Nachan Can, Lord of Chactemal . Gerónimo de Aguilar , who had taken holy orders in his native Spain, was captured by Maya lords too, and later was a soldier with Hernán Cortés. Francisco Pizarro had children with more than 40 women, many of whom were ñusta . The chroniclers Pedro Cieza de León , Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés , Diego Durán , Juan de Castellanos and friar Pedro Simón wrote about

12420-531: Was appointed governor of the island. As governor he authorized expeditions to explore lands further west, including the 1517 Francisco Hernández de Córdoba expedition to Yucatán . Diego Velázquez , ordered expeditions, one led by his nephew, Juan de Grijalva , to Yucatán and the Hernán Cortés expedition of 1519. He initially backed Cortés's expedition to Mexico, but because of his personal enmity for Cortés later ordered Pánfilo de Narváez to arrest him. Grijalva

12535-629: Was composed of a series of urban settlements and satellite villages linked together by loose trading networks. The largest city was Cahokia , believed to be a major religious center, located in what is present-day southern Illinois . The Mississippian way of life began to develop in the Mississippi River Valley (for which it is named). Cultures in the tributary Tennessee River Valley may have also begun to develop Mississippian characteristics at this point. Almost all dated Mississippian sites predate 1539–1540 (when Hernando de Soto explored

12650-547: Was contemporaneous with the Middle Mississippian culture at the Cahokia site near St. Louis , Missouri. It is considered ancestral to the Natchez and Taensa Peoples. Although the Mississippian culture was heavily disrupted before a complete understanding of the political landscape was written down, many Mississippian political bodies were documented and others have been discovered by research. Mississippian peoples were ancestral to

12765-717: Was destabilizing the indigenous community, causing resentment toward the Europeans. Instead of continuing his mission to Mexico, Captain Pardo left a garrison at Fort San Juan and marched the remainder of his troops westward to resupply Moyano's troops. Pardo first took his troops to the native village of Tocae (near present-day Asheville, North Carolina ), then continued to Cauchi (Mississippian town) (near present-day Canton . The force continued on to Tanasqui and then to Chiaha, where they found Moyano's troops in need of supply. After aiding them, Pardo returned to Santa Elena. Shortly after May 1568, news reached Santa Elena that

12880-457: Was granted manumission and a pension of 50 pesos. Antonio Pérez was from North Africa, and a free black. He joined the conquest in Venezuela and was made a captain. Juan Portugués fought in the conquests in Venezuela. During the 1500s, the Spanish began to travel through and colonize North America. They were looking for gold in foreign kingdoms. By 1511 there were rumours of undiscovered lands to

12995-508: Was largely divided before the hallmark of this marriage. Five independent kingdoms: Portugal in the West, Aragon and Navarre in the East, Castile in the large center, and Granada in the south, all had independent sovereignty and competing interests. The conflict between Christians and Muslims to control Iberia, which started with North Africa's Muslim invasion in 711, lasted from the years 718 to 1492. Christians, fighting for control, successfully pushed

13110-632: Was one of four men who accompanied Marcos de Niza as a guide in search of the fabled Seven Cities of Cibola , preceding Coronado . When the others were struck ill, Estevanico continued alone, opening up what is now New Mexico and Arizona. He was killed at the Zuni village of Hawikuh in present-day New Mexico. The viceroy of New Spain Antonio de Mendoza , for whom is named the Codex Mendoza , commissioned several expeditions to explore and establish settlements in

13225-468: Was sent out with four ships and some 240 men. Hernán Cortés, led an expedition (entrada) to Mexico, which included Pedro de Alvarado and Bernardino Vázquez de Tapia. The Spanish campaign against the Aztec Empire had its final victory on 13 August 1521, when a coalition army of Spanish forces and native Tlaxcalan warriors led by Cortés and Xicotencatl the Younger captured the emperor Cuauhtemoc and Tenochtitlan,

#236763