He sailed from Jamaica to the Gulf of Mexico to explore the land between Florida and Mexico. He tried to establish a colony, but the entire settlement was killed by Native Americans. First European to Map the Texas Coast

He searched for the rumored seven cities made of gold, leading 300 Spanish soldiers to the Texas area in 1540.

He would be captured and enslaved by the Coahuiltecan natives with 3 other Spaniards. They would later escape. After removing an arrowhead from a man’s chest, the group became famous as healers.

French explorer who, in 1682, canoed down the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico. There he planted the French flag and claimed all of the land drained by the Mississippi for France.

In 1691, he dedicated his life and work to missions among the Native Americans in East Texas. He stayed at the mission of San Francisco de los Tejas and wanted to do mission work with the Caddos.

He was the founder of the first Spanish mission in East Texas named San Francisco de los Tejas. Native Americans became resentful and even planned an attack on the mission.

An early Roman Catholic missionary to Texas. After serving in Mexico and Central America, he traveled into Spanish Texas where he established several missions in East Texas by 1717.

A Native American who told Coronado about Quivera: a region full of cities of gold. Coronado killed me for deceiving him.

Gold, Glory, and God: the European explorers came to the Americas to become rich, famous, and to convert Native Americans to Christianity.

Rumored city of gold that Cabeza de Vaca and a Catholic friar, Marcos de Niza, claimed to have seen

French settlement La Salle builds in East Texas. Hunger and disease kills many of the settlers.

After Francisco Coronado fails to find Cibola, the Spaniards meet a Native American named Turk who tells them of a city that he claims is full of gold. They will later find out this city doesn’t exist.