Luis de Moscoso Alvarado facts for kids

Luis de Moscoso Alvarado (born 1505, died 1551) was a Spanish explorer and a "conquistador." Conquistadors were Spanish adventurers who explored and conquered lands in the Americas. Luis de Moscoso took over Hernando de Soto's important expedition after de Soto died.

Early Life

Luis de Moscoso Alvarado was born in Badajoz, Spain, around 1505. His parents were Alonso Hernández Diosdado Mosquera de Moscoso and Isabel de Alvarado. He had two brothers, Juan de Alvarado and Cristóbal de Mosquera.

His uncle was the famous Spanish conquistador Pedro de Alvarado. Pedro was well-known for his role in conquering parts of Mexico and Central America.

Career

Expeditions with Pedro de Alvarado

Luis de Moscoso joined his uncle Pedro on trips to the Americas. He helped in the Spanish conquest of lands that are now Mexico, Guatemala, and El Salvador.

In 1530, Pedro sent Luis to El Salvador to start a new Spanish settlement in the eastern part of the region. On May 8, 1530, Alvarado founded the town of San Miguel de la Frontera. This town is in what is now the San Miguel Department.

Alvarado founded San Miguel with about 120 Spanish cavalry (soldiers on horseback). He also had infantry (foot soldiers) and Native American helpers. They crossed the Lempa River and officially founded San Miguel on November 21, 1530.

In 1534, Luis traveled to Peru with his uncle. They explored what is now Ecuador. As they explored, Alvarado and Pedro found several Native American tribes in the Manabí Province.

Expeditions with Hernando de Soto

A possible route for the de Soto and de Moscoso Expedition.

After returning from Peru, Luis and his two brothers decided to work with another Spanish explorer, Hernando de Soto.

Soto and Alvarado went back to Spain in 1536. This was because of a disagreement between other Spanish leaders, Diego de Almagro and Francisco Pizarro. In Spain, it seems Alvarado spent his money from Peru unwisely. This made him need to return to the Americas to find more wealth.

He left the Spanish port of Sanlucar de Barrameda with de Soto's army. Luis de Moscoso was in charge of one of the expedition's seven ships.

On April 7, 1538, the expedition reached the coast of Florida. Alvarado was given the title of "maestre de campo," which means "field commander." He held this important role until March 1541. At that time, the group was attacked by the Chickasaw Native American tribe. This attack led to the deaths of twelve Spanish soldiers and many horses. The attack happened mainly because of a misunderstanding between Alvarado and the tribe.

Hernando de Soto died on May 21, 1542, in what is now Arkansas. This meant Luis de Moscoso became the new leader of the expedition. After talking with the other leaders, Moscoso decided to stop trying to build a colony. Instead, he chose to lead the expedition toward modern-day Mexico.

Moscoso's Own Expeditions

Moscoso and his army marched west. They reached parts of northwest Louisiana and Texas. Along the way, they met Caddoan Mississippian peoples. These were Native American groups who lived in settled communities. However, the Spanish did not have interpreters to talk with them.

Eventually, they entered land that was too dry for growing maize (corn). It also had too few people to find enough food by taking it from local groups. So, the expedition quickly turned back to Guachoya on the Mississippi River.

During the winter of 1542-1543, they built seven small ships called "pinnaces." They planned to use these boats to find a water route to Mexico. On July 2, 1543, just over half of the expedition members (322 people) had survived. They began their journey down the Mississippi River.

As they traveled, they had a three-day battle with the powerful chiefdom of "Quigualtam". More men were lost during this fight. Alvarado's group finally reached the Gulf Coast on July 16, 1543. They then started sailing west along the coasts of Louisiana and Texas.

The group likely explored some of Texas' bays, possibly Matagorda Bay, Corpus Christi Bay, or Aransas Bay. They eventually arrived at the Pánuco River in Mexico. From there, they traveled on to Mexico City.

In Mexico City, Moscoso wrote two letters to Charles V, who was the king of Castile at that time. However, these letters did not explain much about the expedition. Later, Moscoso began working for Antonio de Mendoza, the viceroy (a ruler representing the king) of New Spain. He went with Mendoza on a trip to Peru in 1550. Luis de Moscoso Alvarado died in Peru in 1551.

Personal Life

After sending his letters to the King of Spain, Moscoso Alvarado married Leonor in Mexico City. Leonor was the daughter of Luis's uncle, Juan de Alvarado. Juan was the brother of Pedro de Alvarado.

Legacy

Mosca Pass, located in Alamosa County within the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, is named after Luis de Moscoso de Alvarado. It is thought that he might have explored this area with a team in 1542.

See also

In Spanish: Luis de Moscoso para niños