Arizona History 1. The two most prominent Spaniard expeditions included the renowned “the grandest and best of all Spanish discoveries” that was spearheaded by Fray Marcos. This expedition has however created much controversy as critics question Marcos’ expedition, as many are not sure whether he really attained the settlement of Cibola. On his side, Fray Marcos describes Cibola as a beautiful city that was full of glow and bliss. The second expedition of the Spaniards was the Francisco Vázquez de Coronado entrada and it followed immediately after Marcos’ disputed expedition. The second expedition led to the discovery of the Great plains around 1541, when Francisco Vázquez de Coronado and his men started exploring the areas in the western fringes. In their quest, they discovered the Querechos who were presumed to be the long gone ancestors of the Apache people. 2. Padre Kino was a missionary who endured missions early in the 17th century and has many achievements to his name. For the better part of the 17th and 18th century, Padre Kino undertook a daunting mission to convert the O’odham people. In doing so, Kino traversed the O’odham territory, moving as far as to the North of Gila River, an area that was predominantly inhabited by the O’odham people. The host community grew fond of Kino’s charismatic personality, and they immediately liked him and whatever he was telling them. They extended their largesse by offering him food commodities like seeds, and valuable gifts to make him feel accepted and welcome to their community. The gifts offered included seeds, fruits, vegetables, and livestock to strike an agreement and create a rapport that would support the process of conversion and the eventual civilization. In the process, Kino was able to transform the O’odham Indians into more civilized generation, but his efforts were later politicized and the congregacion policies hinted that the conversion was a subtle way for controlling the Indians by reducing and altering their lifestyles. 3. History books are clear about the stale relationships that existed between the Spanish and the Apache. At one time, a Pima calendar made an allegation of an attack, where the Apache had invaded the Pima and the aftermath of the battle left the Apache with many causalities. Pima is a native tribe well affiliated with the Spanish, and it is rumored that it decimated all the attacking Apaches, and this is the probable genesis of bad blood between the two sides. it is also said that Apache would unknowingly farm many crops that were introduced by the Spanish, which made the Spanish feel that the Apache were copying or aping their way of life. This resulted to misunderstandings as the Spanish always wanted to live solitary but unique life. Apache befriended small factions of hunters and gatherers that helped them raid cattle from the Spanish herds. 4. The mountain men were faced by many challenges when they moved from New Mexico and headed to Arizona to look for beavers. The trappers faced risk of getting killed by huge tasked and deadly animals like javelin and mountain hogs. Also, bears and aggressive panthers posed a great risk. Apart from the wild animals, native Americans were hostile who saw the mountain men as a threat to their resources and the intruders were unwelcomed as they plundered their resources without permission. Fur trapping became increasingly dangerous as battles of supremacy, and dominance of the open grasslands intensified, with the mountain men suffering more casualties.
