The Spanish

Question 1

Who were Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile? (7)

Answer 1

• their union marked the beginning of Spanish power beyond the Iberian peninsula
• also famous for the Spanish Inquisition
• according to modern estimates, about 150,000 people were prosecuted
• 3,000-5,000 were executed
• the first expansion took over the kingdom of Granada in 1492
• Isabella was the monarch who allowed Columbus to explore the New World
• in 1492, he arrived in the Bahamas and set up a colony in Hispaniola

Question 2

What was the first contact between the Spanish and Native Americans? (3)

Answer 2

• 1492, Christopher Columbus reaches Hispaniola
• the native Taino number around 400,000 people in 1492
• when Santa Maria ran aground, the Taino people hurried to aid the Spanish crew

Question 3

What was Taino culture like? (5)

Answer 3

• in 1492, inhabited Cuba, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Bahamas and Hispaniola
• Ayiti was the indigenous Taino name
• ancestors may have come from Central America or Venezuela
• when the Taino resisted European takeover, the Europeans enslaved them and made them work in the gold mines
• by 1520, population reduced from 400,000 to 5,000 due largely to hunger and disease

Question 4

What was the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire? (5)

Answer 4

• conquest of Mexico or Spanish-Aztec War, 1519-1521
• met with Moctezuma, ruler of Tenochtitlan, asked about gold, was invited into city
• relationship with Aztecs went sour in 1520
• Hernan Cortes led coalition of Spanish forces and native Tlaxcalan
• Spanish victory due to smallpox-ailing Aztec population

Question 5

When did Juan Ponce de Leon journey to the New World?

Answer 5

1513-521

Question 6

When did Panfilo de Narvaez journey to the New World?

Answer 6

1528-1536

Question 7

Describe Hernando de Soto’s journeys to the New World from 1539-1543. (5)

Answer 7

• part of the expedition to conquer South America
• tasked with conquering Florida for Spain
• De Soto dies at the Mississippi River and is buried in the river
• his crew sailed down the river to the Gulf of Mexico, where they built larger boats to take them back to Mexico
• following this failed expedition, the Spanish crown banned further exploration of Florida

Question 8

Describe the viceroy of New Spain, Louis de Velasco’s journey to the New World. (4)

Answer 8

• other European countries take note of ships headed back from the New World with gold, and begin making plans to explore the territory themselves
• in response, Spain sends Louis de Velasco from New Spain to Pensacola in Florida, Coosa in Georgia, and St. Elena in 1526, with a climate similar to that of Spain
• the Spanish refused to eat foods the Natives ate, to the point of starvation

Question 9

Who was Tristan de Luna y Arellano? (4)

Answer 9

• the Aztecs were promised something in exchange for accompanying Luna in 1554, but were never paid
• in response, the Aztecs presented a lawsuit against the Spanish crown, documenting the events in the Osuna Codex and winning
• Luna was born in 1514, a second son who left for New Spain to make a name for himself
• second-in-command to Coronado

Question 10

Describe the first colonization phase of the Luan Expedition in 1559. (5)

Answer 10

• headed to Pensacola, went to far east but got there eventually
• after arriving, a hurricane hit the colony
• one of the 12 ships headed back to Mexico immediately
• the hurricane sinks all but four of the ships, and the expedition fails
• so, there are seven shipwrecks dating to 1550 in Pensacola Bay

Question 11

Describe excavations at the Emmanuel Point I Ship. (12)

Answer 11

• ballast pile: a pile of rocks at the bottom of a ship for balance and weight
• gunports, but no guns
• about half a mile away from the bay, in about 12 feet of water
• site is about 30m by 10m
• magnetometer survey: senses iron
• tiny piece of iron turned out to be part of the anchor
• anchor style dated to the 1550s
• copper cauldron: copper under the sand stayed intact
• evidence of Aztec stuff; pottery and obsidian
• mice and rat bones, olive pits, shoe leather, cockroach wings
• most interesting find: breastplate
• there was no metal left, but a shell of crust where the iron once was

Question 12

What was the terminus post quem for the Emmanuel Point I ship? (2)

Answer 12

• Blanca, 1471-1474

- very old coin for the ship to contain

Question 13

Describe excavations at the Emmanuel Point II Ship. (9)

Answer 13

• found in 2006 by University of Florida surveys
• worked on the site continuously until 2016
• 400 yards west of Emmanuel Point I
• much closer to the shore in 12 ft of water
• most of the carbo was salvaged before or after the hurricane
• broken vessels, ceramics, concretions indicating iron
• another coin depicting two pillars of Hercules representing the Strait of Gibraltar and a coat of arms for Isabella of Castile
• the coat of arms showed a castle, a lion, and a pomegranate representing Granada, and “Carolus” or Charles V
• the coin is from the time of the Luna expedition, minted in Mexico City; confirms that the wreck is from the Luna expedition

Question 14

How was Luna’s colony found, and what artifacts did it contain? (4)

Answer 14

• up until 2015, did not know the terrestrial location of Luna’s colony
• a local, who had been looking for the colony for decades, was on his lunch break and came across a construction site for a new house and there was a refuse pile that he looked through and found ceramic sherds from the 16th century
• brought sherds to university and reported it
• found glass beads from Venice, weights for coins tied to a royal accountant, all kinds of iron nails