When the Spanish Arrived (CEC)

The Spanish Encounter L6

The first European encounters with the Indians shaped the Texas landscape for generations. Learn why the Spanish chose to explore the region, but not occupy the lands that would one day become Texas in the Spanish Encounter.

Learning Objectives for Lesson 2

• Understand how the Spanish conquered the indigenous people’s of the Americas;
• Uncover the correlations between the arrival of the Spanish and the exploration of Texas;
• Study the explorers Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, Hernando de Soto, and Francisco Vázquez de Coronado and their investigation of Texas;
• Learn why Spain did not immediately settle Texas.