Spanish Explorers
Spanish explorers were among the first from Europe to infiltrate the area now called Oklahoma. Native peoples, however, were at first little troubled by the arrival of Christopher Columbus's ships off the coast of Central America in 1492.
Spanish explorers were among the first from Europe to infiltrate the area now called Oklahoma. Native peoples, however, were at first little troubled by the arrival of Christopher Columbus's ships off the coast of Central America in 1492.
Oklahoma lay on the northern edge of Spanish exploration of North America, which took place in the 1500s and 1600s.
Columbus, an Italian explorer working for the Spanish crown, originally sought a short water route to China that would give Spain an advantage in the spice trade.
The Western Hemisphere provided an enormous physical barrier, and in seeking passage through it, Europeans thoroughly explored it over the ensuing two and one-half centuries.
The Spanish might have given up, but the vast wealth discovered among the Inca and Aztec empires whetted their appetite for more gold and silver and stimulated them to explore further in "New Spain."