Chronology of American Indian History

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tact with many Indian groups, who are repelled by
the Spaniards’ violence but intrigued by the horses,
cattle, and other European livestock they have
brought with them. The Spanish travel as far east
as present-day Wichita, Kansas, before turning
back empty-handed. In 1542, Coronado arrives in
Mexico, where the expedition is considered such a
disaster that no Spanish parties will be sent into the
American West for the next 40 years.

The Choctaw nearly destroy the de Soto
expedition.
While traveling through the lands of the Choctaw,
Spanish soldiers led by Hernando de Soto (see entry
for 1539) threaten tribal leader Tuskaloosa and de-
mand that he give over several tribe members for the
Spaniards to use as slaves. Tuskaloosa agrees and tells
the invaders to meet him at the village of Moma Bina
near what is now Mobile, Alabama, to collect the cap-
tives. When de Soto and his men arrive, they are met
by a huge army of Choctaw warriors. The Spaniards
manage to escape only by setting fire to the village
and, in the process, many of their own possessions.
Many Spaniards are killed, and more, including de
Soto, are wounded by the Choctaw’s arrows. (See also
entry for MAY 21, 1542.)

1541

The French king orders Jacques Cartier to
return to North America.
Francis I commands French explorer Jacques Cartier
to make a third voyage to North America (see entries
for 1534 and for 1535), officially to create a perma-
nent French settlement and to “establish the Christian
Religion in a country of savages.” Unofficially, the ex-
ploratory party, which includes two goldsmiths, is also
to search for fabled Indian villages with vast stores of
gold and other precious metals.
Cartier and several hundred men settle near
what is now Quebec City, but they are plagued by
harsh weather and Indian attacks. In the spring,
they give up on establishing a colony and sail home
with a hoard of what Cartier takes to be gold and

diamonds. When they are found to be merely rocks,

the French Crown loses interest in further explora-

tion of North America for nearly 50 years.

1542

The Spanish Crown issues the New Laws of

the Indies.

Dominican friar Bartolomé de Las Casas travels from

Cuba to Spain to persuade King Charles I to adopt

a more humane policy toward the Indians native to

lands in the Americas claimed by Spain. During the

meeting, passages are read from Las Casas’s A Very

Brief Recital of the Devastation of the Indies (see entry

for 1502), which details the gruesome torture and

murder of thousands of Indian men, women, and

children at the hands of their Spanish conquerors.

As a result of Las Casas’s testimony, the king

adopts the New Laws of the Indians. These laws ban

Indian slavery and call for an end to the encomienda

system (see entry for 1512). When Spanish colo-

nists outraged by these reforms begin to revolt, the

Crown modifies the laws to minimize their impact.

The incident, however, demonstrates to Spain that

the encomienda owners are becoming dangerous to its

authority in the colonies. In the future, Spain’s rulers

will avoid granting new encomiendas and make inher-

iting existing ones increasingly difficult.

“We order and command that

henceforth, for no reason of war

or any other, even though it be

by reason of rebellion or pur-

chase, may any Indian be made

a slave, and we wish them to

be treated as our vassals of the

Crown of Castile, which they

are. No person may make use of

any Indian... against his will.”

—from the New Laws of the Indies