Week 10: California Studies Weekly

Spanish conquistadors were celebrated heroes upon their return to Spain. Why aren’t their conquests celebrated by everyone?

• 1. The Spanish conquistadors were Catholic priests that treated American Indians with the respect. Their conquests are not celebrated by everyone because they only helped the American Indians, but not other groups that needed support.

• 1. The Spanish conquistadors were brave and strong, and they helped Spain gain many new lands around the globe. However, to conquer the lands, they often took advantage of the American Indians they encountered. They did not treat these people very kindly, often stole from them and even killed them in order to take over the land.

Sebastián Vizcaíno sailed the southern California coast from 1602-1603 and is credited with naming San Diego and other landmarks. He is also remembered for _______________.

•   producing accurate maps used by sailors for over one hundred years

•   sailing up the Rio Grande and creating a settlement

•   visiting Easter Island and conquering the indigenous people

•   discovering Hawaii and forming alliances with the native tribes

This Spanish soldier discovered California in 1542, while sailing up the coast to find a trading port for ships traveling across the Pacific to Asia. Who was he?

•   Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo

•   Hernán Cortés

•   Amerigo Vespucci

•   Ponce de Leon

Captain James Cook was an English explorer, navigator and mapmaker who ________________________.

•   found a water passage near the tip of South America to go from the Atlantic to Pacific Oceans

•   explored many of the Pacific islands, including Hawaii and Easter Island

•   sailed around the tip of Africa to reach Asia

•   built his own ships

Hernán Cortés took advantage of the Aztec of Mexico by __________________________.

•   paying huge amounts of gold to the chief

•   sneaking in undetected using underwater breathing tools

•   ambushing them at night while the tribe was asleep

•   allowing them to mistake him for Quetzalcoatl, a returning god

This man was hired by Russia to explore northern Siberia and discovered a small opening of water between Russian and present-day Alaska.

Who was he?

•   Vitus Bering

•   Sir Francis Drake

•   Captain James Cook

•   John Cabot

Sir Francis Drake was an English explorer who was the first person to __________________.

•   sail around the world on his own boat

•   draft an accurate map of the Pacific Ocean and its islands

•   sail for the Queen of England

•   be buried at sea

San Diego was an ideal bay for Cabrillo’s fleet because it _________________________.) (Choose two answers)

•   protected from violent storms

•   shallow enough for the men to walk in on footprotected from violent storms

•   deep enough for large boats

• 1. both A and C (deep enough for large boats AND protected from violent storms)

Conquistadors were Spanish soldiers who ____________________________.

•   settled the land for future countryman

•   conquered native inhabitants

•   explored new lands

•   all of the above

Sir Francis Drake was an English explorer who was quite different from the other explorers in this issue. What made him different from the other explorers you studied this week?

• 1. Sir Francis Drake was an English explorer who sailed for the Queen of England. While Drake explored, he would wreak havoc on the Spanish settlements and ships he would encounter. He stole gold, treasures and supplies from the Spanish posts. In Spain’s eye, Drake was not an explorer, but a pirate!

• 1. Sir Francis Drake was a Spanish explorer who sailed for the King of Spain. He was different from the other explorers because he gave money to the poor and built homes to Native Americans.