S2: Ep5 - Steel, Maps, and Utter Confusion: The GPS-Less Invasion of Colorado

You know what’s great about Google Maps? Not getting lost in an entirely different mountain range while clad in heavy steel, suffering from heatstroke, and trying to steal gold that doesn’t actually exist. In this class, we follow the heavily armored, deeply confused Spanish conquistadors and mapmakers who first stumbled into Colorado, turning the 16th and 17th centuries into one long, high-altitude navigation fail. Leading with the infamously brutal Don Juan de Oñate—who claimed the entire Rio Grande watershed for Spain in 1598 on sheer audacity—we analyze what happened when Old World imperialism met the colossal, unyielding topography of the Rockies We’ll track Diego de Vargas, the Territorial Governor of New Mexico who led a group into the San Luis Valley in 1694 to avoid being ambushed, ended up chasing bison, and mapmakers like those on the 1779 Anza expedition who tried to figure out where "New Spain" actually ended. Expect bad maps, massive cultural misunderstandings, and the sheer hilarity of cartographers trying to write "I have no idea where we are" in formal 17th-century Spanish. It’s an hour of bad directions, iron suits, and imperial hubris picking a fight with the Continental Divide. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/4th-period-u-s-history--5621461/support. Visit the class at Spreaker.com and follow! Link to the page HERE!  It would mean a lot and go a long way in helping grow class! Thank you for your support!