Key Figures in Mexican History

Front

A deputy commander who took over an expedition after the conquistador leading them died; he successfully returned to Spanish territory with most of his men.

Back

Luis de Moscoso

Front

The "commander in chief" of the revolutionary forces during the Mexican War of Independence; later, the second president of the First Mexican Republic.

Back

Vicente Guerrero

Front

A former royalist commander who would join forces with a revolutionary leader to defeat the Spanish after Ferdinand VII was deposed; attempted to make himself emperor of Mexico.

Back

Augustin de Iturbide

Front

The priest who assumed leadership after the death of Hidalgo; he convened a congress that issued a declaration of independence, but was later defeated and executed.

Back

Father Jose María Morelos y Pavon

Front

A Spanish conquistador whose expedition became the first European explorers to see the Grand Canyon, Llano Estacado, and parts of the Texas panhandle.

Back

Francisco Vazquez de Coronado

Front

This Spanish conquistador’s expedition made landfall in a location close to where the Narvaez expedition had landed in 1527

Back

Hernando de Soto

Front

A Moroccan slave who was one of the first Africans to explore the Americas. A survivor of the Narvaez expedition, this enslaved person was sent on the Niza Expedition to serve as an interpreter, before being killed by the Zuni Pueblo.

Back

Estevanico

Front

A creole priest from Dolores who led a revolt that started the Mexican War of Independence in 1810 and was later executed.

Back

Father Miguel Hidalgo

Front

The first European explorer to lay eyes on Texas in 1519.

Back

Alonso Alvarez de Pineda

Front

An American born filibuster who led two expeditions to Texas– one by land, and the other by sea–attempting to inspire a rebellion against Spanish rule; “accidentally” while awaiting trial in Mexico

Back

John Long