WorksheetsTexas History – Unit 3: Explorers & Early Colonization Review
Total questions: 54
Worksheet time: 30mins
What was the main reason European explorers wanted a new trade route to Asia?
To spread democracy
To escape religious persecution
To bring back valuable goods like silk and spices
To explore new lands
Who convinced Spain’s monarchs to fund a voyage west across the Atlantic in 1492?
Hernán Cortés
Christopher Columbus
Francisco Coronado
Alonso Álvarez de Pineda
Columbus set sail with which three ships?
Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria
Mayflower, Beagle, Santa Maria
Nina, Bounty, and Santa Clara
Pinto, Maria, and Nina
What were the three main goals of Spanish conquistadors?
Glory, Gold, and God
Trade, Travel, and Taxes
Land, Law, and Language
War, Wisdom, and Worship
Who was the first European to map the Texas coastline?
Cabeza de Vaca
Alonso Álvarez de Pineda
Hernán Cortés
Panfilo de Narváez
Cortés defeated which major empire in Mexico?
Mayan
Incan
Aztec
Olmec
Cabeza de Vaca was shipwrecked on the Texas coast after which expedition failed?
De Soto Expedition
Narváez Expedition
Coronado Expedition
Niza Expedition
Cabeza de Vaca’s memoir inspired which legend?
Fountain of Youth
Seven Cities of Gold
Northwest Passage
The Lost Colony
Who led the expedition searching for Cíbola after hearing stories of great cities of gold?
Hernando de Soto
Francisco Coronado
Fray Marcos de Niza
Louis Juchereau de St. Denis
What was the main outcome of Coronado’s expedition?
Discovery of gold
Discovery of Quivira
Exploration of Texas lands
Missions in East Texas
Which explorer died on the Mississippi River and was succeeded by Moscoso?
Hernando de Soto
Panfilo de Narváez
Francisco Coronado
Alonso de León
The Columbian Exchange involved the transfer of:
Money and gold
Plants, animals, diseases, and people
Religions and languages
Slaves only
A mission’s main purpose was to:
Train soldiers
Convert Native Americans
Serve as trade centers
Protect settlers
What was a presidio?
Religious school
Military base
Trading post
Farming community
Which French explorer accidentally landed in Texas?
Rene-Robert Cavelier de La Salle
Louis Juchereau de St. Denis
Fray Damian Massenet
Marquis de Rubí
What was the Spanish reaction to La Salle’s failed colony?
Ignored it
Sent expeditions to locate/remove it
Gave land to French
Built new colonies for them
What event caused Spain to reoccupy East Texas in 1721?
Treaty of Paris
Chicken War
French & Indian War
Mission Revolt
Which mission later became known as “The Alamo”?
San Miguel
San Antonio de Valero
San Francisco de los Tejas
La Bahía
What road connected Spanish settlements from Mexico to Texas?
El Camino Real
Los Adaes Trail
Rio Grande Path
Santa Fe Route
The 1824 Mexican Constitution established what kind of government?
Monarchy
Military dictatorship
Federal republic
Religious rule
A (a) was a Spanish soldier-adventurer.
__________ was the Aztec ruler defeated by Hernán Cortés.
Moctezuma II
Atahualpa
Pachacuti
Cuauhtémoc
Cabeza de Vaca and (a) survived the Narváez expedition.
The ______ expedition explored the Mississippi River.
de Soto
Cortés
Pizarro
Columbus
A (a) ruled a colony on behalf of the king.
The (a) Exchange transferred plants, animals, and diseases.
Missions were located near ______ sources.
water
gold
timber
salt
Soldiers living in ______ protected missions and settlers.
presidios
pueblos
missions
ranches
The most successful Spanish settlement in Texas was ______.
San Antonio
El Paso
Nacogdoches
Goliad
La Salle claimed the Mississippi River basin for France and named it ______.
Louisiana
New France
Quebec
Acadia
The French raid on a Spanish mission became known as the (a) War.
founded 24 settlements and 15 missions in South Texas.
José de Escandón
Hernando de Soto
Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca
Francisco Coronado
The ______ Treaty of 1819 set the U.S.–Spanish boundary.
Adams–Onís
Guadalupe Hidalgo
Tordesillas
Paris (1763)
Father (a) issued the "Grito de Dolores" calling for independence.
The ______ Constitution created Mexico’s first government in 1824.
Mexican
Spanish
Texan
American
Why were the Spanish motivated to explore and claim Texas? (Multiple)
To gain wealth (gold)
To spread Christianity
To increase Spain’s power and empire
To escape taxes imposed by England
To establish democratic self-rule
What hardships did Cabeza de Vaca and his men face while surviving in Texas? (Multiple)
Starvation and disease
Shipwreck and exposure to harsh weather
Conflict and captivity among some Native groups
Luxury living in established towns
Abundant supplies from Spain
What were Hernán Cortés’s major accomplishments? (Multiple)
Defeated the Aztec Empire
Conquered Tenochtitlan
Claimed Mexico for Spain
Discovered the Mississippi River
Founded Quebec
How did the search for gold shape Spanish exploration in Texas?
It discouraged exploration and led Spain to abandon Texas early.
It motivated expeditions seeking riches, prompting extensive exploration and mapping of Texas.
It caused Spain to ally with the French to develop Texas gold mines.
It led to the immediate discovery of rich gold deposits across Texas.
Describe the daily life of Native Americans inside a Spanish mission.
Mostly independent hunting with little contact with missionaries
A regimented schedule of religious instruction, farming, and craft work under missionary supervision
Long-distance trading expeditions across the plains with minimal settlement
Military training for presidio service and constant patrols
Compare the roles of missions, presidios, and settlements in Spanish Texas. Which statement best explains their different purposes?
Missions provided military defense, presidios converted Native Americans, and settlements handled long-distance trade.
Missions focused on religious conversion and assimilation of Native Americans, presidios provided military protection, and settlements were civilian towns for residence and local trade.
Missions were temporary camps, presidios were farming centers, and settlements were only for missionaries.
Missions and presidios were both churches, while settlements were forts.
Why was La Salle’s expedition significant to Spanish Texas?
It established a French foothold at Fort St. Louis, alarming Spain and prompting renewed Spanish missions and presidios in East Texas.
It provided Spain with a direct route to the Pacific Ocean through Texas.
It discovered large gold deposits that Spain later mined.
It resulted in a treaty ceding Texas to France.
How did the French presence in Louisiana affect Spanish colonization of Texas?
It eliminated the need for Spanish settlements in East Texas.
It pressured Spain to colonize and fortify East Texas with missions and presidios to protect territory and influence.
It caused Spain to abandon San Antonio and move west.
It led Spain to share control of Texas with France.
How did Spain respond to French threats in East Texas?
By withdrawing settlers to Mexico and closing all missions
By establishing and rebuilding missions and presidios, sending expeditions, and strengthening routes such as the San Antonio corridor
By inviting the French to jointly govern East Texas
By focusing only on trade and avoiding military presence
What was the importance of El Camino Real?
A ceremonial road used only for religious festivals
A royal road that connected Texas missions and settlements to Mexico, supporting travel, trade, and military movement
A private French trail used for fur trading only
An abandoned path with little strategic value
Summarize the main effects of the Marquis de Rubí’s recommendations on Spanish Texas.
Spain expanded all East Texas missions and built no new forts.
Spain closed most East Texas missions and presidios, relocated settlers toward San Antonio and La Bahía, and organized a defensive line of presidios.
Spain ceded Texas to France and withdrew to Mexico City.
Spain converted presidios into civilian towns and ended missionary work.
Which statement best defines the term “Tejano” and describes their role in colonial Texas?
Spanish-speaking Texans of Mexican heritage who helped settle and develop ranching communities
Native American tribes who resisted Spanish missions
Anglo-American settlers invited by empresarios
Spanish royal officials who governed New Spain
What most directly caused tension between Spain and the United States in the early 1800s?
Disputes over the boundary of the Louisiana Purchase and control of Texas
Trade tariffs on goods shipped through New Orleans
Debates over the expansion of slavery into western territories
Conflicts about fishing rights along the California coast
How did Father Hidalgo’s “Grito de Dolores” influence Mexico and Texas?
It sparked the Mexican War of Independence, inspiring unrest in Texas and weakening Spanish control
It created a new Spanish constitution that strengthened royal authority in Texas
It established missions in East Texas that expanded Spanish settlement
It brought a French alliance that protected Spanish Texas from U.S. expansion
How did Mexico’s independence affect Texas’s population and government?
It opened Texas to increased Anglo-American immigration and shifted to a Mexican federalist government with Coahuila y Texas
It led to mass Spanish immigration and the establishment of an absolute monarchy
It depopulated Texas due to forced evacuations ordered by Spain
It placed Texas under a U.S. territorial government
Coronado and other Spanish explorers were motivated to lead expeditions to North America because of the stories they heard about —
seven cities of gold
a giant sea monster
horses that could fly
an immortal native tribe
Spanish explorers came to the New World for all of the following reasons except
God
Gold
Glory
Escape religious persecution
What was Spain's reaction to LaSalle's expedition in the New World and what is modern day Texas?
Spain had no reaction, they were still not interested in modern day Texas
The Spanish recruited him as a conquistador
Spain declared war on France
Spain panicked and began to have a renewed interest by establishing settlements in modern day Texas
