Information about the way the Spanish conquistadors were able to conquer the indigenous people they met.

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.

A recount by a member of the crew of the voyage of Ferdinand Magellan to the Philippines in the 16th century, where he was killed, and of the remaining voyage his crew took in the eastern oceans, then back to Spain.

This is the original report Coronado sent to the viceroy describing his journey from Mexico to what he hoped were the Seven Cities of Gold. He describes the land, people, climate, food, animals.

A biography of this Spanish explorer who was born in 1490. Click on "route" for a map of his travels, and click on "account" for a translation of his published account of his experiences.

History Matters provides this fascinating account from Spanish conqquistador, Cabeza de Vaca, about his encounters with the varous Native Americans in the Southwest who came to him for medical attention.

A description of Hernando De Soto's involvement in expeditions in the New World, hinting at but not fully describing his exploration of La Florida and much of the rest of southern North America prior to his deat.

Provides an overview of the traditional culture and lifestyle of Peruvian Americans. (Note: Content is not the most current.)

Fordham University gives the text of Cortes' second letter to King Charles V, describing the Aztec capital city, Tenochtitlan, and the people who lived there.

This article from McGraw-Hill Higher Education discusses European exploration in the late 1400s and 1500s and its impact on English colonization hundreds of years later.

Thirty two primary sources-historical documents, literary texts, and visual images-that explore the expectations and the realities of European exploration of the New World.

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...

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.

This site describes the early Spanish exploration and beginning of colonization in what we know today as New Mexico.

A brief relating of the life of Juan Rodriguez and the Cabrillo expedition, 1542-1543, up the coast of California.

A brief description of de Vaca's accomplishments with links to information, original illustration and documents, and timeline on Spanish exploration.