Big Bend Snapshot: The Early Spanish Entradas -- US 67/90 at Alpine City Limit, Alpine TX
N 30° 22.167 W 103° 37.652
13R E 631884 N 3360523
Two signs of history placed at the eastern city limit of Alpine Texas explain the history of early Spanish expeditions and incursions into the Big Bend area of Texas
Waymark Code: WMTVZN
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 01/12/2017
Views: 1
Two modern interpretive signs have been placed in a small roadside pullout along the US 67/90 at the eastern city limit of Alpine. These signs explain the history of Spanish entradas into the Big Bend region of Texas.
This waymarked sign is to the left as you face the two signs in this pullout, and it reads as follows:
BIG BEND SNAPSHOT
HISTORY
The early Spanish Entradas
Timeline section:
1475 – CE*
1492 – Columbus lands on San Salvador island in the Caribbean West Indies
1497 – John Cabot, first known English party to land in North America, Northeast Canada
1521 – Hernan Cortez conquers the Aztec empire
1528 – Panfilo de Narvaez expedition to Florida meets disaster
1535 – Cabeza de Vaca and 3 more Narvaez expedition survivors enter Big Bend
1540 – Francisco Pizarro conquers Incas in the Andes mountains of Peru
1541 – Francisco Vasquez to Coronado leads an expedition into Arizona, New Mexico, Kansas, and the Texas High Plains region
1563 – Slave raids in La Junta cause indigenous rebellion
1565 – Ponce De Leon establishes colony at Saint Augustine Florida
1588 – British Navy defeats the Spanish Armada near Calais, France
1598 – Juan de Onate established El Paso Del Norte en route to New Mexico
1607 – Jamestown colony established on Chesapeake Bay, Virginia
1620 – Mayflower lands at Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts
1700 CE
*CE: Common era
Pullouts from timeline:
1581 Agustin Rodriguez
Franciscan Friar Agnes Stan Rodriguez along with 2 fellow fryers, accompanied by one officer and nine soldiers mounted an expedition to La Junta de los Rios, junction of the Rio Conchos and Rio Grande, to convert the native Jumano Indians. The soldiers proceeded onward to New Mexico in search of riches, while the Franciscan brothers remained to convert the Jumanos. The brothers were never heard from again.
1582 Antonio de Espejo
Antonio de Espejo, governor of Queretaro province, petitioned the Spanish Viceroy for permission to find the missing Rodriguez Franciscans and to found a colony in New Mexico. Espejo followed the Rio Conchos to La Junta, where he heard reports of the brothers had died at the hands of angry Indians. The expedition then marched up the Rio Grande and into New Mexico looking for gold and land the claim. In doing so, Espejo led the first organized Spanish Entrada to pass through the Big Bend region. However, due to his abusive treatment of Rio Grande Pueblo Indians, he was soon forced to retreat East down the Rio Pecos and back through la Junta into Mexico. [drawing of Don Antonio de Espejo, ca 1587 by Jose Cisneros]
1683 Dominguez la Mendoza
After the Camino Real between Chihuahua City, Mexico and Santa Fe, New Mexico replaced the Rio Concho’s route in 1598, La Junta largely ignored. In 1683, Jumano Chief Juan Sabeata went to El Paso and requested that the governor sent soldiers to protect them from increasingly frequent attacks by invading Apaches. Captain Juan Dominguez do Mendoza was appointed to lead an expedition to La Junta, the first in 95 years.
Mendoza followed the Rio Grande from El Paso to La Junta where he joined two friars who’d follow the Rio Conchos trail from Chihuahua City. The combined party then journeyed north through Paisano Pass, into the Davis Mountains and on to Fort Stockton and beyond. Mendoza provided the first detailed reports on the region and located several major springs, critical for survival in an arid land.
Mendoza returned to Mexico and urged the Spanish Viceroy to grant La Junta a new mission, but a French expedition led by Rene-Robert Cavelier, Siure de La Salle, had recently shipwrecked on the upper Texas coast. This persuaded the Spanish to make a strategic withdrawal from La Junta, which ended the early phase of Spanish activity in the Big Bend region.
[drawing: Colonial Altar Cross]
Colonial Altar Cross
Spaniards were committed to converting the inhabitants of the New World to Catholicism. The goals of the Church in Spanish Crown were so entwined, the cross became a symbol of religious power combined with colonial conquest.
[drawing: Spanish Colonial Spur]
The first Spanish conquistadors had technological and psychological advantage over the Indians who had never seen horses or men and armor. Mounted soldiers were mistaken at first for superhuman Centaur-like deities with exotic powers and weapons.
Intoxicated by the conquest of the Aztec and Inca empires, Spaniards were lured by tales of fabulous riches into the uncharted territories of the New World. Entradas, formal entries into the distant lands, are carefully planned expeditions usually with civilian, military, and religious components. The early Entradas were launched to search for mineral wealth, acquire land, and subdue and convert the natives to Catholicism.
Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca was among the first Europeans to see the Big Bend region in 1535, when he and 3 other men, survivors of the ill-fated Panfilo de Narvaez expedition passed through La Junta de Los Rios, near modern-day Presidio, Texas. Spaniards did not return to La Junta until 1563, when slave traders arrived to take captives to work in silver mines. Slave raids Pete between 1575 and 1585, but continued for many years and provoked intense hostility from the native peoples.
[Map of Spanish Entradas]
Entrada Routes:
1581 Agustin Rodriguez
1582 Antonio de Espejo
1683 Dominguez de Mendoza
WARNING: DO NOT TRESPASS -- it is absolutely forbidden to disturb or collect the following: artifacts, mineral or rock specimens, plants or animals of any description on public or private property in Texas without appropriate permission or permits. Do not cross fence lines or pass through closed gates. Trespassing is treated as a criminal offense in taxes and laws are vigorously enforced. DO NOT WALK ON HIGHWAYS. Be aware of vehicles entering roads on narrow shoulders. Be safe. View sites from vehicles. Do not become a hazard yourself."
Group that erected the marker: Brewster County Tourism Council
URL of a web site with more information about the history mentioned on the sign: [Web Link]
Address of where the marker is located. Approximate if necessary:
US 67/90 at east city limit of Alpine Texas
Alpine, TX
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Visit Instructions:
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