In "Tejas", or Texas as we now call it, the Spanish were in search of gold and souls. This period of American history is seldom mentioned in mainstream textbooks. But it is an event rich in history and interest for Texans. As a starter, I want you to read these two quotes from a poet and a professional historian on this period, and I'll have you deal with them later...

"We Americans have yet to really learn our own antecedents... Thus far, impress'd by New England writers and schoolmasters, we tacitly abandon ourselves to the notion that our United States have been fashion'd from the British Islands only... which is a very great mistake."       
Walt Whitman, 1883

"The story of Hispanic men and women who changed indelibly the human
and natural geography of North America has only recently begun to be woven into the fabric of American history. Although the United States has always been a multiethnic society, most general histories of the nation have suggested that its colonial origins resided entirely in the thirteen colonies. In American popular culture, the American past has been understood as the story of the expansion of English America rather than as the stories of the diverse cultures that comprise our national heritage."

Dr. David Weber, The Spanish Frontier in North America (1992)

What role did Mission San Fransisco de la Espada of San Antonio play in Spain's colonial empire? Who were the "Mestizaje"? How as Mission Espada changed over the centuries?

Note: For interested students, a trip to Mission Espada (Off of Loop 410 and Roosevelt) would be particularly revealing. It is much smaller that Mission San Jose. But its beauty and charm are unsurpassed.)

Click on The Missions and the Spanish Fronier

1. Who lived in this region before the Spanish arrived?
2. What was the region of South Texas like before Spanish arrival? How has the region changed over time?
3. Describe the lifestyles of the indigenous peoples.
4. Why did the Spanish establish missions in Texas?
5. What were the goals and purposes of the friars, who lived and worked at Mission San Jose?
6. What agricultural system did the Spanish bring to the San Antonio valley? What other products came from the missions?
7. What significant influences did the missions have on the indigenous peoples?
8. What is a gente de razón? What does that phrase say about how the Spanish viewed the native population?
9. What factors led the Coahuiltecans to accept Mission life?

(B)

Research the Wampanoag Indians, Massasoit, Squanto, the Pilgrims, and the First Thanksgiving. (Try the Smithsonian Magazine.) Answer the following questions:

1. Describe the Wampanoag Indians' lifestyle. What was their view of the English settlers?
2. Who was Massasoit, and explain how the Indians used the English.
3. How is the traditional story of the first Thanksgiving completely misleading?
4. Who was Tisquantum, and what was his story?
5. What doomed the Indians? Why?

Next, Explore the images @ the Plymouth Plantation Village (This page is the creation of Ms. Irene Scharf, Research Librarian, at Palo Alto College)

(C) There is a wealth of material on the internet about America's first colony, Virginia. One of the biggest problems with extending English civilization 3,000 miles from the mother country was the dearth of good leaders. Settlers were starving, there were huge problems with the native people in the area, and the colony was failing. Go to Fearless Leader. Using this exercise, determine for yourself who should be the next leader of your colony. Finally, complete the essays for the Jamestown Census.

(E) Quiz: Theme 2

Additional Resources:

David Weber. This lecture describes the development of Spanish rule over its territories in America. The on-line lecture is based on Dr. Weber's book The Spanish Frontier in North America.

Purchase a video about the native-American people's of the San Antonio area before and immediately after the Spanish came to South Texas: Gente de Razon