Exploration and Missions Common Quiz

In 1685, the French explorer Rene-Robert Cavalier, Sieur de La Salle, established a fort at Matagorda Bay in Texas. How did the Spanish react to the news of this French fort?

• They sent an expedition to Matagorda Bay and later built their own fort on the same location. 

• They encourage local Indians to attack the fort to prevent French settlement. 

• They ignored the fort because it was too small to threaten Spanish interests. 

• They offered to sell East Texas to King Louis XIV of France. 

A student learning about Texas history is instructed to write a paper about American Indians during the 18th and 19th centuries. Which of the following primary sources would be most relevant to the student's assignment?

• An article about Indians in Texas on traveltex.com

• An informational brochure about the Stephen F. Austin Museum

• A biography of a famous karankawa

• Writings about Cabeza de Vaca's travels

To protect their claims to lands in Texas against French settlement, the Spanish--

• encourage immigration by asking empresarios to recruit settlers. 

• negotiated a series of peace treaties and alliances with Native Americans. 

• asked the United States to join forces with them against the French. 

• built missions, presidios, and towns. 

What led the first group of Spanish colonists to journey to Texas?

• There was not enough land in Mexico. 

• They were searching to find gold. 

• They wanted to protect Spanish claims against French settlers. 

• They wanted to convert the Indians to Christianity.

- Missions are established in East Texas. 

- Presidios are built to protect missions and town. 

- The town of Bexar is established in central Texas. 

- The state of Coahuila y Tejas is established. 

The bullet points in this list would most likely be included in an essay about which era of Texas History?

• The Era of Revolution and Republic

• The Age of Contact

• The Spanish Colonial Era

• The Mexican National Era

After he returned to Spain, the explorer Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca, wrote a book about his experiences in North America.  According to the map, what lands did Cabeza de Vaca explore and describe in his writings?

• Present-day South and West Texas and northern Mexico

• Present-day Florida to East Texas

• The Panhandle of present-day Texas

• Northern Mexico and present-day New Mexico

San Antonio was founded in 1718.  What was important about its location at the time?

• It was located on the Rio Grande and served as a stopping point for settlers traveling to the interior, becoming known as the "Gateway to Spanish Texas."

• It was midway between the Spanish settlements on the Rio Grande and the missions in East Texas which made it easy for missions to get supplies.  

• It was located on land claimed by the French which helped weaken the French hold on territory in Texas. 

• It was located near French trading posts which increased trade between French and Spanish settlers. 

The question of how to treat the Native Americans was often a source of tension between friars and soldiers.  They differed in their views of whether to use force or to be more accommodating with the Native Americans.  The mission staff often felt that the soldiers had a poor relationship with the Native Americans.  At first this caused the presidios to be built at some distance from the mission.  If the mission was under attack, though, the soldiers were then too far way to help in time.

--from Texas History

Which statement identifies the friars' point of view about the relationship between soldiers and Native Americans?

• Many friars though soldiers should continue to use force with the Native Americans until attacks on the missions stopped. 

• Many friars thought the soldiers treated the Native Americans too harshly. 

• Many friars though presidios should be built closer to the missions so that the soldiers and Native Americans could learn to trust each other. 

• Many friars thought the soldiers were too accommodating with the Native Americans. 

In 1519 which Spanish explorer became the first European to study and map the Texas coastline?

• Panfilo de Narvaez

• Alonso Alvarez de Pineda

• Hernan Cortes

• Juan de Onate

The Texas Plains

Settlers first relied on horse-based transportation and later on the railroad. 

The Texas Plains remained unfenced and open until the introduction of barbed wire. 

Cattle-owners first used open-range cattle drives and later relied on closed range ranching. 

 

Based on the information in the box above, how did settlers cope with the environment of the Texas Plains?

• New settlers used the same farming techniques on the Plains that they had used in the East. 

• Settlers relied on cattle ranching and never farmed on the Plains. 

• Settlers relied on horses, barbed wire, and other adaptation to succeed on the Plains. 

• Texans on the plains mostly traveled on waterways even after railroads were introduced.