The Colonization Of North America Part 3

Mexico rebuilt. Encomiendas granted.--The work of conquest on the mainland was accompanied by the evolution of government and the establishment of Spanish civilization, just as had been the case in the West Indies during the earlier stages of the struggle. Wherever the Spaniards settled, they planted their political, religious, economic, and social inst.i.tutions. Mexico was rebuilt in 1522 as a Spanish munic.i.p.ality, Pedro de Alvarado, the most notable of Cortes's lieutenants, being made first _alcalde mayor_. In the regions subdued the princ.i.p.al provinces were a.s.signed to the conquerors as encomiendas.

Much of the actual work of control was accomplished through native chiefs, who were a.s.signed Spanish offices and held responsible for good order and the collection of tribute. This method was later adopted by the British in India.

[Ill.u.s.tration: The Development of Southern Mexico, 1519-1543.]

THE SPREAD OF THE CONQUEST

The semi-civilized tribes.--With the fall of the city the first stage of the conquest had ended. Within the following decade most of the semi-civilized tribes of southern Mexico and Central America were brought under the dominion of Spain. During this period Spanish activities were directed from the Valley of Mexico to the eastward, southward and westward. From the south came rumors of gold and reports of the South Sea, while to the north, among the barbarian tribes, there was little, at this stage of the conquest, to attract the conquerors.

Factors in the conquest.--Several factors explain the marvelous rapidity with which Spanish rule was extended. The conquerors were looking for gold and acc.u.mulated treasure; not finding it in one place they hastened to another, led off by any wild tale of riches. The fame of the Spaniards preceded them and paralyzed resistance. They were everywhere aided by great armies of allies, eager to help destroy their hated enemies. Finally, Cortes, himself a genius, was a.s.sisted by an able body of lieutenants; in the spread of the conquest Cortes remained the central figure, but the actual work fell mainly to Orozco, Alvarado, Olid, Sandoval, Chico, Avalos, Montejo and other subordinates.

Vera Cruz, Oaxaca, and Tehuantepec.--In the fall of 1520 Sandoval, in search of gold and to punish rebellious Indians, invaded southern Vera Cruz with a handful of soldiers, aided by thirty thousand Indian allies.

To hold the district he founded the towns of Medellin and Espiritu Santo. Before the expulsion of Cortes from the city, goldseekers had been sent to Oaxaca and Tehuantepec and were well received, but the "Noche Triste" was followed by a reaction. Orozco was sent, therefore, to subdue Oaxaca, which he reported to be rich in gold. In 1522 an attack by hostile neighbors called Alvarado to Tehuantepec. Gold was found, and as the district bordered on the South Sea, settlements were formed to hold it.

Olid in Michoacan.--The same year, 1522, marks the extension of Spanish rule into Michoacan, the territory of the hitherto independent Tarascans. The cacique Tangaxoan visited Cortes and made submission, and in return Olid was sent to found a settlement at Patzcuaro on Lake Chapala. Before the end of the year part of the settlers moved to the seacoast and settled at Zacatula, in the modern state of Guerrero, where a post had been established.

Colima and Jalisco.--From Michoacan the conquest at once spread north into Colima and Jalisco. Gold being reported in Colima, Avalos and Chico, lieutenants of Olid entered the country, but were defeated by the natives. Thereupon Olid followed, subdued the mountain region by force, and founded the town of Colima (1524), which became a base for new advances. On his return to Mexico, Olid brought samples of pearls from Colima, and reports of an Amazon Island ten days up the coast, where there were said to be great riches. To investigate these reports, in 1524 Francisco Cortes was sent north. He reached Rio de Tololotlan, and secured the allegiance of the "queen" of Jalisco, but found little gold and no Amazon Island.

Amichel and Panuco.--In 1522 the Huasteca country, to the northeast, came under the control of Cortes. It was three years before this that Pineda, as representative of Garay, governor of Jamaica, had visited the region. Garay applied for a grant of a province called Amichel, extending from Florida to Mexico, and set about colonizing it. In 1520, before the patent was secured, a party of his men met disaster near Panuco River. Hearing of Garay's operations, in 1522 Cortes led forty thousand allies into the country, subdued it, and founded San Esteban, on Panuco River. In 1523 Garay led a colony to the same region, but found himself forestalled by Cortes, by whom he was sent to Mexico, where he soon died. The rivalry of the Spaniards encouraged an Indian revolt, but Sandoval, as agent of Cortes, put down the disturbance with extreme cruelty. In 1527 the Panuco district, under the name of Victoria Garayana was separated from Mexico, Nuno de Guzman being made governor, while the region called Florida, further north, was a.s.signed to Panfilo de Narvaez. Guzman's rule of six months was characterized by attempts to extend conquests northward into Narvaez's territory, by wars with the Huasteca chieftains, and by constant slave-hunting raids, through which the country was nearly depopulated.

Alvarado in Guatemala and San Salvador.--By this time the conquests of Cortes and his lieutenants had extended into Central America, where they encountered, the agents of Pedrarias. In 1522 emba.s.sies from the large cities of Utatlan and Guatemala had visited Cortes and made submission.

In the following year Alvarado, with four hundred Spaniards and twenty thousand allies, entered the region and conquered the Quiches and Cakchiquels. This task partially completed, he continued south and extended his conquests into San Salvador (1524).

Olid and Casas in Honduras.--Cortes believed that Honduras was rich, and that a strait lay between it and Guatemala. Moreover, Gil Gonzalez and the agents of Pedrarias had begun to operate there. Consequently, at the same time that Alvarado went to Guatemala, Olid was despatched to Honduras. Reaching there in 1524 he tried to imitate his master's example by making a conquest for himself. He succeeded in defeating Gonzalez, as has been seen, but was in turn beheaded by Francisco de las Casas, who was sent by Cortes to overthrow him. During this struggle the city of Trujillo was founded.

The march of Cortes to Honduras.--In doubt as to the wisdom of sending Las Casas after Olid, in October, 1524, Cortes set out for Honduras in person, with about one hundred and forty Spaniards and three hundred Indians in his train, the latter led by three famous Aztec chiefs. In his rear was driven a herd of swine. The route lay through southern Vera Cruz, Tabasco, and Chiapas, to Golfo Dulce, his way being obstructed by vast mora.s.ses, swollen streams, and flint-strewn mountains. In a single province fifty bridges had to be constructed in a journey of as many miles. In Chiapas it became necessary to bridge with trees a channel five hundred paces wide. On the way the Aztec chieftains, including the n.o.ble Cuauhtemoc, being charged with conspiracy, were hanged, an act which is variously characterized as a "necessary punishment" and a "foul murder." Leaving his cousin, Hernando Saavedra, in command as captain-general in Trujillo, Cortes sent his men home by way of Guatemala and returned by sea to Mexico in May, 1526. After attempting for two years to explore on the South Sea, in 1528 he went to Spain to refute his enemies, chief of whom was Nuno de Guzman, now president of the recently established Audiencia of Mexico. He returned two years later.

Yucatan.--The conquest of Yucatan was begun in 1527 by Francisco de Montejo, an agent of Cortes. Initial success was followed by native revolts, and it was 1541 before the conquest was made secure. There were frequent rebellions thereafter, but never again united resistance.

Las Casas in Guatemala.--Thus far the conquest had been one of force.

But now an example of the power of gentleness was furnished by Father Las Casas, the Dominican friar who had opposed encomiendas so vigorously in Espanola. About 1532 he entered Nicaragua as a missionary, where he attacked the ill-treatment of the Indians. Being opposed by the governor, in 1536 he went to Guatemala. Shortly before this he had written a treatise to prove that conversion by force was wrong, and that only persuasion should be used. To test his views he was granted sole control for five years of a hostile region known as "the Land of War,"

and by mild means he and his companions soon converted the district into a land of True Peace (Vera Paz), as it is still called.

Guzman in Sinaloa.--While Cortes was in Spain Guzman, fearing his own downfall, and hoping to save himself by offering new provinces to the king, undertook the conquest of northern Jalisco and of Sinaloa. Leaving Mexico in December, 1529, with ten thousand allies, he marched through Michoacan and Jalisco, leaving behind a trail of fire and blood, for which he has ever since been execrated. Part of Sinaloa was explored, and Culiacan was founded as an outpost in 1531. The region subdued by Guzman was named Nueva Galicia, of which the conqueror became governor and Compostela the capital.

Buffer province of Queretaro.--At the coming of the Spaniards the country north of the valley of Mexico had never been conquered by the Aztecs. The Spaniards, in turn, adopted the policy of entrusting its subjugation to native caciques, treating the region as a buffer Indian state. The leading figure in the conquest was a Christianized Otomi chief, named Nicolas de San Luis. By Charles V he was made a knight of the Order of Santiago and a captain-general in the army. Another Otomi cacique who played a similar though less conspicuous part was Fernando de Tapia. The most notable event in the conquest was the reduction of Queretaro in 1531. For thirty years San Luis served the Spaniards in the control of the Queretaro border.

The Mixton War.--The first half century of expansion toward the north was closed by a widespread native uprising in Nueva Galicia which for a time checked advance in that direction and even caused a contraction of the frontier. Guzman had left Nueva Galicia in a deplorable condition.

After several minor uprisings, the rebellious natives broke forth in 1541, during the absence of Governor Coronado and his army in New Mexico. The Indians refused to pay tribute, killed their encomenderos and the missionaries, destroyed the crops, and took refuge in the _penoles_ or cliffs of Mixton, Nochistlan, Acatic, and other places near Guadalajara. The defence fell to Cristobal de Onate, lieutenant governor of Nueva Galicia. Pedro de Alvarado, who chanced to arrive from Guatemala at Navidad with a force of men, led them against Nochistlan and lost his life in the encounter. Viceroy Mendoza at last took the field with four hundred and fifty Spaniards and thirty thousand allies, and crushed the revolt.

EXPLORATIONS IN THE NORTHERN INTERIOR AND ON THE PACIFIC

_FLORIDA_

De Leon.--While some conquerors were struggling in Central America, Mexico, and Peru, others were trying to subdue the vast northern region called Florida. In 1514 Juan Ponce de Leon secured a patent to colonize Florida and Bimini, which he had explored in the previous year. Instead of proceeding to the task, however, he engaged in a war against the Caribs, and it was not until 1521 that he attempted to carry out his project. In that year he led a colony of two hundred men to the Peninsula, landed on the west coast, and tried to establish a settlement. But he was attacked by natives, and driven back to Cuba, mortally wounded.

Ayllon's colony on the Carolina coast.--To carry out his contract to colonize Chicora, in July, 1526, Ayllon sailed from Espanola with six vessels and a colony of five hundred men and women, Dominican friars, and supplies, prepared to find a new home in Carolina. But the experiment was doomed to be another failure. Landing was first made on the river called the Jordan, perhaps Cape Fear River. On another stream; perhaps the Peedee, the settlement of San Miguel de Gualdape was begun. But supplies gave out, and at the end of two years Ayllon died (October, 1528). Quarrels ensued, and in midwinter the survivors, only about one hundred and fifty now, returned to Santo Domingo.

Narvaez.--At the same time the conquest of Florida was attempted by Panfilo de Narvaez, the man who had been sent to Vera Cruz to arrest Cortes. In 1526 he secured a patent to the lands of Ponce de Leon and Garay. Raising a colony of six hundred persons in Spain, in 1528 he reached Florida, landing near Tampa Bay. Hearing of a rich province called Apalachen (Apalache), he sent his vessels along the coast and himself marched up the peninsula at the head of three hundred men to find the Promised Land. He found the place sought near modern Tallaha.s.see, but it proved to be a squalid Indian village of forty huts.

A few weeks having been spent in exploration and warfare, Narvaez went to the coast near St. Marks Bay, built a fleet of horse-hide boats, and set out for Panuco. After pa.s.sing the mouth of the Mississippi a storm arose, and all were wrecked on the coast of Texas.

Cabeza de Vaca.--In a short time most of the survivors of Narvaez's party died of disease, starvation, and exposure, or at the hands of the savages. Having pa.s.sed nearly six years of slavery among the Indians, Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca, the treasurer of the colony of Florida, with three companions, escaped westward, crossed Texas, Coahuila, Chihuahua, and Sonora, and in 1536 reached Culiacan, the northern outpost of Sinaloa, after a most remarkable journey.

De Soto.--Vaca went to Spain (1537) to apply for the governorship of Florida, but it had already been conferred on Hernando de Soto, who had taken a prominent part in the conquest of both Central America and Peru.

In 1539 De Soto reached Florida with a colony of six hundred persons.

Landing at Tampa Bay, as Narvaez had done, he soon set out to look for a rich province called Cale. This was the beginning of an expedition lasting nearly four years, during which the Spaniards were led on by tales of gold and treasure from one district to another, hoping to repeat the exploits of Cortes and Pizarro. As he pa.s.sed through the country De Soto imitated those captains by capturing the chiefs, holding them as hostages, and compelling them to provide food and men to carry the baggage. Going to Apalachen he wintered there, meanwhile discovering Pensacola Bay. From Apalachen he went to the Savannah River, thence northwest to the North Carolina Piedmont, south toward Mobile Bay, northwest to the Mississippi near modern Memphis, westward across Arkansas into Oklahoma, thence down the Arkansas River to its mouth, where he died, in May, 1542, being buried in the Mississippi.

Moscoso in Arkansas and Texas.--De Soto's followers, led by Luis de Moscoso, now set out for Panuco, crossing Arkansas to the Red River, then turning southwest through eastern Texas, perhaps reaching the Brazos River. Giving up the attempt by land, they returned to the Mississippi, built a fleet of boats, descended the river, and skirted the Texas coast, reaching Panuco in 1543. Thus ended the fourth attempt to colonize Florida.

_CiBOLA AND QUIVIRA_

Cortes on the South Sea and in California.--Another line of advance toward the northern interior had been made by way of the Pacific slope.

The discovery of the South Sea was followed immediately by exploration along the western coast. Balboa himself had begun that work, before his death in 1519. Espinosa had reached Nicaragua in 1519, and three years later Nino had reached Guatemala. By this time Cortes had also begun operations on the South Sea by building a shipyard at Zacatula, hoping, to discover a strait, find rich islands and mainland, reach India by way of the coast, and open communication with the Moluccas. In 1527 he sent three vessels under Saavedra across the Pacific: The operations of a new fleet built by him were hindered by the Audiencia of Mexico, but in 1532 he sent an expedition north under Hurtado de Mendoza, which reached Rio Fuerte in northern Sinaloa. In the following year another expedition sent by Cortes, under Jimenez discovered Lower California, which was thought to be an island and where pearls were found. The discovery of an island with pearls confirmed the geographical ideas of Cortes, and in 1535 he himself led a colony to La Paz, but within a few months it was abandoned. This was the first of a long series of efforts to colonize California.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Explorations in the Northern Interior, 1513-1543.]

Friar Marcos discovers Cibola.--Interest in the north country, both in Spain and America, was greatly quickened by the arrival of Cabeza de Vaca in Mexico after his journey across the continent. He had seen no great wonders, but he had heard of large cities to the north of his path, and it was thought that they might be the famed Seven Cities. The viceroy took into his service the negro Stephen, one of Vaca's companions, and sent him with Friar Marcos, a Franciscan missionary, to reconnoitre. In March, 1539, they set out with guides from Culiacan.

Going ahead, Stephen soon sent back reports of Seven Cities, called Cibola, farther on. Friar Marcos hastened after him, and reached the border of the Zuni pueblos in western New Mexico, where he learned that Stephen had been killed. Returning to the settlement, he reported that Cibola was larger and finer than Mexico. This story, of course, was the signal for another "rush," like that to Peru a few years before.

Ulloa rounds the peninsula of California.--Rivalry between Cortes and the viceroy regarding exploration was now keen, and about the time of the return of Fray Marcos, Cortes, hoping to forestall his compet.i.tor, sent three vessels north to explore under Francisco de Ulloa. One of the vessels was lost, but with two of them Ulloa succeeded in reaching the head of the Gulf of California, and learned that California was a peninsula. Descending the Gulf he proceeded up the outer coast of California to Cabo del Engano.

The contest for leadership.--While Ulloa's voyage was still in progress, Cortes hurried to Spain to present his claim of exclusive right to conquer the country discovered by Fray Marcos and Ulloa. He never returned to Mexico. Other contestants arose. The agents of De Soto, who at the time was in Florida, claimed Cibola as a part of the adelantado's grant. Guzman claimed it on the basis of explorations in Sinaloa. Pedro de Alvarado claimed it on the ground of a license to explore north and west, for which purpose he had prepared a fleet.

The Coronado expedition.--But the royal council decided that the exploration should be made on behalf of the crown, in whose name the viceroy had already sent out an expedition under Francisco Vasquez Coronado, governor of Nueva Galicia. To cooperate with Coronado by water, Alarcon was sent up the coast from Acapulco with two vessels.

In February, 1540, Coronado left Compostela with some two hundred hors.e.m.e.n, seventy foot soldiers, and nearly one thousand Indian allies and servants. So eager were the volunteers that it was complained that the country would be depopulated. The expedition was equipped at royal expense with a thousand horses, fine trappings, pack-mules, several cannon, and with droves of cattle, sheep, goats, and swine for food.

From Culiacan Coronado went ahead with about one hundred picked men and four friars. Following behind their leader, the main army moved up to Corazones, in the Yaqui River valley, where the town of San Geronimo was founded and left in charge of Melchor Diaz.

Zuni, Moqui, the Colorado, and the Rio Grande.--In July Coronado reached the Zuni pueblos, which he conquered with little difficulty. But the country was disappointing and the expedition resulted only in explorations. These, however, were of great importance. At Culiacan Alarcon procured a third vessel, then continued to the head of the Gulf, and ascended the Colorado (1540) eighty-five leagues, perhaps pa.s.sing the Gila River. Shortly afterward Melchor Diaz went by land from San Geronimo to the Colorado to communicate with Alarcon, but failed and lost his life. During the journey, however, he crossed the Colorado and went some distance down the Peninsula of California.

Hearing of the Moqui pueblos, to the north of Zuni, in July Coronado sent Tobar to find them, which he succeeded in doing. Shortly afterward Cardenas went farther northwest and reached the Grand Canyon of the Colorado. Moving to the Rio Grande, Coronado visited the pueblos in its valley and camped at Tiguex above Isleta. In the course of the winter the Indians revolted and were put down with great severity.

Gran Quivira.--Meanwhile Coronado heard of a rich country northeastward called Gran Quivira, and in April, 1541, he set out to find it. Crossing the mountains and descending the Pecos, he marched out into the limitless buffalo-covered plains, the "Llanos del Cibola," inhabited by roving Apaches. Near the upper Brazos he turned north, crossed the Texas Panhandle and Oklahoma, and reached Quivira in eastern Kansas. It was probably a settlement of Wichita Indians. Disappointed, and urged by his men, Coronado now returned to Mexico. Three fearless missionaries remained to preach the gospel, and soon achieved the crown of martyrdom.

Coronado had made one of the epochal explorations of all history.

The Pueblo Indians of New Mexico.--Coronado found large parts of New Mexico and adjacent regions inhabited by Indians who dwelt in substantial towns (pueblos) and possessed a civilization similar to that of the Aztecs. Their terraced dwellings, which were also fortifications, were built of stone or adobe, and were several stories high. The inhabitants lived a settled life, practiced agriculture by means of irrigation, and raised cotton for clothing. They were constantly beset by the more warlike tribes all about them, and were already declining under their incursions. At the time of the conquest there were some seventy inhabited pueblos, whose population may have been from 30,000 to 60,000. The princ.i.p.al pueblo regions were the upper Rio Grande, the upper Pecos, acoma, and the Zuni and Moqui towns. Remains of prehistoric pueblos occupy a much wider range in the Southwest, and are now the scene of important archaeological research.

_CALIFORNIA AND THE PHILIPPINES_

Alvarado's fleet.--Shortly after Coronado left New Mexico, two important expeditions were despatched by Viceroy Mendoza to explore in the Pacific. Magellan's voyage had been a signal for a bitter conflict between Spain and Portugal in the East, in which Portugal long had the upper hand. After the failures of Loaisa (1525) and Saavedra (1527) Charles V sold Spain's claims on the Moluccas to Portugal, but continued to claim the Philippines. In spite of former disasters to eastern expeditions, both Cortes and Pedro de Alvarado planned discoveries in the South Sea. In 1532 Alvarado made a contract for the purpose, but was led off by the gold "rush" to Peru. In 1538 he obtained a new grant, authorizing him to explore "in the west toward China or the Spice Islands," or toward the north at the "turn of the land to New Spain."

Early in 1539 he left Spain with equipment nor a fleet, which he transported across Honduras and Guatemala on the backs of natives. On hearing of the discoveries of Fray Marcos, he hastened north with his fleet, but stopped in Mexico, where he and Mendoza, who had already sent out Coronado, made an agreement, as mutual insurance, to divide the profits of their respective explorations. Before continuing his expedition Alvarado was killed in the Mixton War (1541). This left the fleet in Mendoza's hands, and with it he carried out Alvarado's plans by despatching two expeditions, one up the California coast, the other across the Pacific.

Cabrillo and Ferrelo.--The coast voyage was conducted by Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, and was especially designed to look for a northern strait.

Leaving Navidad in June, 1542, Cabrillo explored the outer coast of the Peninsula, discovered San Diego Bay, reached Northwest Cape (lat.i.tude 3831'), descended to Drake's Bay, and then returned to the Santa Barbara Channel, where he died. Sailing north again in 1543, his pilot, Ferrelo, reached the Oregon coast (42 1/2), returning thence to Navidad. Cabrillo and Ferrelo had explored the coast for more than twenty-three degrees, but had missed both San Francisco and Monterey bays.

Villalobos.--The other expedition was led by Lopez de Villalobos, who was instructed to explore the Philippines and to reach China, but not to touch at the Moluccas. Sailing in November, 1542, he took possession of the Philippines, but, being forced to leave on account of native hostility, he was captured by the Portuguese. Villalobos died in the Moluccas, where the enterprise went to pieces. The expeditions of Coronado, De Soto, Cabrillo, and Villalobos brought to an end a remarkable half century of Spanish expansion in North America and in the Pacific Ocean.