The History of the Americans

This week we are kicking off perhaps the most unbelievable story of individual survival in all the History of the Americans, the disastrous Narváez expedition and the amazing journey of Cabeza de Vaca. In the spring of 1536, a group of Spanish horsemen were ranging north along the Pacific coast of Mexico, looking for Indians to capture for slaves in territory that the Spanish had neither settled nor explored. The horsemen encountered a group of Indians, but among them were three Spanish nobles and a black slave. The four were the last survivors of a disastrous expedition that had landed in Florida eight years before, and they had traveled across North America and now found themselves as the spiritual leaders of the first known mass religious movement in North America. In between they endured unbelievable suffering, and their survival is its own monument to human resilience. Over the next several episodes, we will recount this story, and look forward to its consequences. Selected references for this episode Andrés Reséndez, A Land So Strange: The Epic Journey of Cabeza de Vaca Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, The Account: Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca's Relacion, An Annotated Translation by Martin A. Favata and Jose B. Fernandez Alex D. Krieger, We came Naked and Barefoot: The Journey of Cabeza de Vaca Across North America Gonzalo Fernandez Oviedo y Valdez and Harbert Davenport, "The Expedition of Pánfilo de Narváez," The Southwestern Historical Quarterly

In this episode we venture back to Florida, and the first of several almost comically incompetent attempts by the Spanish to settle the area, including Ponce de Leon's second expedition in 1521, and the very ephemeral settlement of San MIguel de Gualdape under the "leadership" of Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón. We also explore the personal rivalry and indeed hatred among the leading players in the Spanish Caribbean of the early 1500s, and the implications for the Spanish exploration of the future United States. Selected references for this episode Andrés Reséndez, A Land So Strange: The Epic Journey of Cabeza de Vaca Douglas T. Peck, "Lucas Vásquez de Ayllón's Doomed Colony of San Miguel de Gualdape," The George Historical Quarterly Samuel Turner, "Juan Ponce de León and the Discovery of Florida Reconsidered," The Florida Historical Quarterly Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón

With the English looking for a northwest passage and the Spanish pressing in to Florida and up the Atlantic Coast, the French get in to the exploration game. French King Francis I gets his own Italian explorer, Giovanni da Verrazzano, and sends him on a mission to explore the Atlantic Coast of North America and search for a shortcut to Asia between Florida and Newfoundland. Along the way, all sorts of interesting things happen, and we learn the accidental origin of the name of the American State of Rhode Island. Selected references for this episode Cuomo finally fixes a 50-year-old typo The History of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, 50 Years After Its Construction Samuel Eliot Morison, The Great Explorers: The European Discovery of America Wikipedia

We now hasten to the first European exploration of the lands now constituting the United States, and that means the first sanctioned expedition to Florida in 1513 by Juan Ponce de Leon, and the legend of the Fountain of Youth. Florida would turn out to be enormously challenging, so it will still be more than fifty years before the first successful permanent settlement at St. Augustine. As discussed in the episode, there is some debate over Ponce's route, so the various maps available online differ in important respects. Here's one from 1913, which is as professional and on target as any that I found. CWCID Selected references for this episode Samuel Turner, "Juan Ponce de Leon and the Discovery of Florida Reconsidered" John McGrath, "Sixteenth-Century Florida in the European Imagination" T. Frederick Davis, "Ponce de Leon's First Voyage and Discovery of Florida"

Discover the profound consequences of the Columbian Exchange following Columbus's voyages. Explore how diseases devastated Indigenous populations while New World crops like maize and potatoes transformed diets in Europe. The fascinating connection of this exchange even extends to popular cocktails, revealing a blend of cultures. Dive into the dual nature of the Columbian Exchange, highlighting both the dark history of commodity cultivation and its lasting impacts on global food diversity and agricultural practices.

This is our last episode on Christopher Columbus. This time we discuss the voyage home, which required impressive seamanship in the context of delivering some of the most important news ever to travel by sea, and the spreading of that news once Nina and Pinta got back to Europe. Columbus's return trip from the western hemisphere was almost unbelievably dangerous, and as much a part of the miracle of his venture as the trip across to the west. Please refer to the show notes for the previous episodes at www.thehistoryoftheamericans.com for useful maps and references. I paced this one a little faster than the previous episodes. I'm interested in what you think of it, or whether you prefer a somewhat slower cadence. Reference for this episode Samuel Eliot Morison, The Admiral of the Ocean Sea: A Life of Christopher Columbus

This is our fourth episode on Christopher Columbus, this time looking at his first exploration of Cuba and Hispaniola, his "pivot" in the positioning of his mission with his investors, and the preparations for the very difficult voyage home. It was during this part of the journey that Columbus established his best arguments to secure funding for the all-important Second Voyage. And, also, there's just a bunch of interesting stuff! For this episode, it might be useful to have at hand the detailed map of Columbus's journey in the Caribbean, so here it is: CWCID Selected references for this episode Samuel Eliot Morison, The Admiral of the Ocean Sea: A Life of Christopher Columbus Shannon Tushingham, Charles M. Snyder, Korey J. Brownstein, William J. Damitio, and David R. Gang, "Biomolecular archaeology reveals ancient origins of indigenous tobacco smoking in North American Plateau".

This is our third episode on Christopher Columbus, which looks at his voyage west from the morning of his departure from Spain, his stop in the Canaries, the crossing of the Atlantic ahead of the fine easterly trade winds that blow at that latitude, ending with the First Contact on an island in the Bahamas. Along the way we learn that but for a flock of birds, the Spanish might not have colonized the western hemisphere. Recorded January 21, 2021, Austin, Texas. I've got a new microphone, and am getting a bit more adept at mixing, so here's to hoping the production values improve, in no doubt fits and starts, as we work our way along through history. The map of the Atlantic islands will again be useful, so here it is: Here's a high level map of the First Voyage which will be useful for the next couple of episodes. CWCID This is a more granular map that will become useful at the end of this episode and during the next episode. CWCID Selected references for this episode Samuel Eliot Morison, The Admiral of the Ocean Sea: A Life of Christopher Columbus Iberian Roots of the Transatlantic Slave Trade, 1440–1640 Guanches (Wikipedia) Conquest of the Canary Islands (Wikipedia)

This episode is a rerecorded and slightly revised version of the second of five on Christopher Columbus, the “Admiral of the Ocean Sea.” It covers the ten years it took Columbus, ever the entrepreneur, to attract the lead investors and sponsors for his proposed expedition to the west, to negotiate the deal, and, having done that, to arrange for the three now famous ships, the crews, and supplies he would need for the voyage. The episode ends with the departure of the Columbian fleet from the Spanish port of Palos out the Rio Saltes on August 3, 1492. You can see Palos on the map below, just west of Seville in the south of Castille. It might also be useful to familiarize yourself with the Atlantic islands, for which you can use your map app on your phone or stare at the map below: CWCID Main feference for this episode Samuel Eliot Morison, The Admiral of the Ocean Sea: A Life of Christopher Columbus

Delve into the influential role of Christopher Columbus in American history and the cultural ramifications of his legacy. Discover the grim realities of late 15th century Europe, marked by plague and conflict, that fueled his explorations. Explore the despair and hope of the time, and how Spain's navigational ambitions intersected with Columbus's quest. Learn about the motivations behind European transoceanic voyages and the significant miscalculations regarding geography that shaped Columbus's iconic journey.