The Spanish Conquerors
The Spaniard of the fifteenth century is recognizable by well-defined
traits: he was primitive, he was proud, he was devout, and he was
romantic. His primitiveness we detect in his relish for blood and
suffering; his pride in his austerity and exclusiveness; his devoutness in
his mystical exaltation of the Church; and his romanticism in his passion
for adventure.
After printing had spread in Spain, the romanticism of the Spaniard
— to confine our observations for the present to that trait — was fostered
by a wealth of books. Amadis of Gaul, Palmerin of England, The Exploits
of Esplandidn, Don Belianis — all these works were filled with heroes,
queens, monsters, and enchantments; and all, it is needless to remark,
held an honored place upon the shelves of Miguel de Cervantes, that
Spanish romanticist par excellence, the author of Don Quixote.
But prior to 1500, or down to 1492, let us say, the romanticism of
the Spaniard, like that of other Europeans, was ministered to not so much
by books as by tales passed from mouth to mouth: tales originating with
seamen and reflected in the names on mariners' charts; and tales by
landsmen recorded in the relations, reports, and letters of missionaries,
royal envoys, and itinerant merchants.
- The European Background
- Discovery of America
- Spanish Exploration and Colonization
- Balboa and the Pacific
- Magellan
- Cortes and Mexico
- The conquest of Central America
- The Spanish penetration of North America
- Explorers
- Ponce de Leon, Ayllon, Narvaex, De Vaca, De Soto, and Coronado
- Padres and settlers
- Florida, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, and California
- Explorers
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