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.
University of Calgary
University of Calgary: Latin America & the Conquistadors
Information about the way the Spanish conquistadors were able to conquer the indigenous people they met.
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.
PBS
Pbs the West: Cities of Gold
This PBS site recounts the efforts of Spanish explorers to find the fabled gold of the New World.
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...
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...
PBS
Pbs: Conquistadors: Franciso Pizarro
Use the navigation at the left to click into more information on the Incas and the Spanish conquest by Francisco Pizarro.
PBS
Pbs: Conquistadors: Cabeza De Vaca
Click on "The Marvelous Adventure" to follow Cabeza de Vaca's several year journey through the Southeast and Texas. Part of a larger site on the Spanish conquest of the Western world, these pages focus on Cabeza de Vaca. Includes de...
PBS
Pbs: Conquistadors: Francisco De Orellana
This site has information on the search for El Dorado and the exploration of Amazonia by Francisco de Orellana. He travelled to the mouth of the Amazon River. The site has plenty of images, maps and video too.
PBS
New Perspectives on the West: Coronado's Report to Viceroy Mendoza
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.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Us History: 1491 1607: Spanish Conquistadores and Colonial Empire
The Spanish gained an early foothold in the colonies, quickly becoming the most powerful European power in the New World.
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: How Magellan Circumnavigated the Globe
Ewandro Magalhaes shares the story of Magellan's journey.
Other
Exploring the Atlantic World: 1450 1850: Conversion Tactics
The Europeans tried to convert Native Americans to Christianity in a variety of ways ranging from the brutal force methods of the conquistadors to acceptance of the other's spirituality and way of life.
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...
Other
American Journeys: Map of the Spanish Entrada Into North America [Pdf]
Map showing the routes taken by fourteen Spanish explorers in the Americas between 1509 and 1543.
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.
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.
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...
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.
Other
American Journeys: Relation of the Voyage of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo
A brief relating of the life of Juan Rodriguez and the Cabrillo expedition, 1542-1543, up the coast of California.
Internet History Sourcebooks Project
Fordham University: Modern History Sourcebook: Ferdinand Magellan's Voyage Round the World
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.
Stanford University
Stanford History Education Group: Atahualpa and the Bible
[Free Registration/Login Required] Lesson in which students explore and examine primary source material to answer a question about Incan Emperor, Atahualpa's meeting with Spanish conquistador, Pizarro. Includes downloadable lesson plan,...
Mariners' Museum and Park
Mariners' Museum: The Ages of Exploration: Age of Discovery
This Age of Discovery page presents naval artifacts and explorers of the 15th century to the early 17th century. It looks at European explorers who journeyed to North and South America, the search for the Northwest Passage, and...