PBS
Pbs: The Conquistadors
A huge website that provides a virtual field trip exploring the Spanish adventurers who quested for gold and land in the New World. The site has information on Pizarro, Orellana, Cabeza de Vaca, Cortes as well as extensive information...
Other
Journal of San Diego History: The Discoverer of Alta California
A scholarly article seeking to determine whether the man who discovered San Diego Bay, and who explored much of the coast of California for the Spanish, was Spanish - Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, or Portuguese - Joao Rodrigues Cabrilho.
Other
Eldritch Press: Cabeza De Vaca's Adventures in the Unknown Interior of America
Read this fascinating account by Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca, one of four survivors who traversed Florida and the Southwest for eight years, from 1529-1537.Read the preface which gives a background to this narrative before delving into...
Bullock Texas State History Museum
Bullock Museum: Conquistadors
Immerse in the campfire stories of the people who defined Texas. Read about the Spanish soldier-explorers who came to Texas in search of gold and glory.
Teachnology
Teachnology: Explorers Teaching Theme
Enhance teaching about explorers with this collection of resources including lesson plans, activities, interactive websites and more.
The Newberry Library
The Aztecs and the Making of Colonial Mexico: Europeans Invade the Aztec Empire
Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes invaded the Aztec empire in the 16th century. This conquest led to the colonization of Mexico. The Newberry Library provides an in depth look into this period of Mexican history through photos,...
Mariners' Museum and Park
Mariners' Museum: Juan Ponce De Leon
Discover details of Ponce de Leon's expeditions in search of land for Spain in the new world. Follow the Spanish explorer's trips to present day Puerto Rico, St. Augustine, and Dry Tortugas, see a map of his journey, images featuring...
Library of Congress
Loc: Parallel Histories: Exploration and Early Settlement
Read about the Spanish conquistadors who explored what was to become Spanish America. Included are links to digital collections from the Library of Congress and the National Library of Spain.
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: Exploration, American Beginnings: 1492 1690
Thirty two primary sources-historical documents, literary texts, and visual images-that explore the expectations and the realities of European exploration of the New World.
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: The Spanish, American Beginnings: 1492 1690
Two maps and four accounts of the Spanish exploration of North America that reflect the goals of the conquistadors and fascination with the land they examined-and the brutality of their treatment of native peoples.
University of Groningen
American History: Essays: Spain's Territorial Conquest in the Americas
The history of Spanish territorial conquest in the New World is the history of the succession of conquistadors who often overwhelmed native empires, but were sometimes overwhelmed themselves. Read about the conquistadors who came to the...
University of Groningen
American History: Outlines: The First Europeans
The first Europeans to arrive in North America -- at least the first for whom there is solid evidence -- were Norse, traveling west from Greenland, where Erik the Red had founded a settlement around the year 985. In 1001 his son Leif is...
University of South Florida
A Short History of Florida: Ponce De Leon: Florida's First Spanish Explorer
Read about Juan Ponce de Leon, his exploration of Florida, and his fruitless search for the "Fountain of Youth."
Other
Encyclopedia of Arkansas: Hernando De Soto (1500? 1542)
Read about Hernando de Soto's travels throughout Arkansas in his quest for gold and silver.
Other
Aas: The Expedition of Hernando De Soto in 16th Century Arkansas [Pdf]
Read an article from the Arkansas Archaeology Survey that traces a probable route of Hernando de Soto in what is now Arkansas. Evidence has been found especially in the Parkin site in northeast Arkansas.
Mariners' Museum and Park
Exploration Through the Ages: Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo
Juan Rodriquez Cabrillo is known for exploring the California coast and claiming the land for Spain, but he did so many other things prior to that.See why Cabrillo wa so important to the Spanish in the New World.Be sure to click on...
Other
San Diego History Center: Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo (? 1543)
After a description of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo's activities in Mexico and Guatemala, there is a day by day description of his sailing expedition up the coast of California.
Ibis Communications
Eye Witness to History: The Death of Magellan, 1521
This article provides a brief biography of Ferdinand Magellan, as well as a deep look into his death at the hands of natives in the Philippines.
Texas State Historical Association
Texas State Historical Association: Alvarez De Pineda, Alonso
An account of the Spanish expedition led by Alonso Alvarez de Pineda in 1519 that explored the Gulf of Mexico between Florida and Cabo Rojo, Mexico. The explorers tried to establish the Panuco colony but were unsuccessful.
Curated OER
National Park Service: Hernando De Soto
A biography of Spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto who explored the southern coast of what became the United States. Read about his travels and demise.
Other
The Conquest of North America by Hernando De Soto, Coronado and Cabeza De Vaca
Describes the conquest of North America in the 1500s by the explorers Hernando de Soto, Vasquez de Coronado, and Cabeza de Vaca. The text has many embedded links to maps showing the routes they traveled as well as to additional information.
BBC
Bbc: History: The Story of the Conquistadors
A well known historian tells the story of the early Spanish explorers known as "conquistadors". He discusses their motivation, what effect they had on the native American societies and much more. Archived.
Mariners' Museum and Park
The Mariners' Museum: Exploration Through the Ages: Alonso Alvarez De Pineda
Little is known about Alonso Alvarez de Pineda's life except for the last year. Read about his explorations for Spain and his contributions to the Spanish empire.
