When Coronado ventured into the Southwest and Great Plains of North America what was he searching for?

Coronado explored parts of what becomes parts of the Southwest United States. Coronado hoped to find a city of gold, which of course he never found.

Francisco Vasquez de Coronado was the governor of the New Galicia province of New Spain(Mexico). He believed the rumors that ther were cities of gold to the North In the spring of 1540 Coronado headed north into what is now Northern Mexico and southern Texas with 300 Spanish soldiers and over 1,000 natives.

The first Native American that they encountered were the Zunni pueblo. When Coronado announced that they would have to obey him or be enslaved the Zunnit responded by firing arrows at the Spanish.

After defeating the Zunni, Coronado found no gold, just a relatively poor Indian tribe. Coronado and his men then explored large parts of the Southwest, including much of what is today New Mexico and Arizona. Coronado explored the Grand Canyon. After sending the majority of his party back to Mexico, Coronado led a smaller group north to find the mythical city of Quivira. He traveled as far as what it today Kansas, only to find a poor Indian tribe. Coronado returned to Mexico, his expedition considered a failure since he had not found the mythical gold.

Biography of Coronado
Internet Links on Coronado
Map of Exploration
Account of Exploration

Coronado, Francisco Vásquez de

February 25, 1510

Salamanca, Spain

September 22, 1554

Mexico City, Mexico

Spanish conquistador

"Neither gold nor silver nor any trace of either was found."

A member of Coronado's exploration party.

Francisco Vásquez de Coronado was a Spanish conquistador (Spanish military leader) who was duped into believing that he could find fabulous cities filled with gold in the New World (a European term for the continents of North America and South America). In 1538, as governor of New Galicia (a province northwest of present-day Mexico City), Coronado headed an expedition to locate these cities full of gold and claim their treasures for Spain. During his three-year search for riches he explored parts of the Rio Grande River Valley and Kansas, and became the first European to reach Palo Duro Canyon (near present-day Amarillo, Texas). Yet Coronado returned empty-handed and was later accused of brutal treatment of Native Americans in his army. However, he was eventually exonerated of the charges.

Seeks "Seven Cities of Cibola"

Francisco Vásquez de Coronado was born in 1510 in Salamanca, Spain, into a family of minor nobility. He sailed to Mexico in 1535 as a member of the party of Antonio de Mendoza, the first viceroy (one who rules in the name of the king) of New Spain, as Mexico was then called. After arriving in Mexico, Coronado married Beatriz de Estrada, the wealthy heiress of the former treasurer of New Spain. He took part in crushing an uprising in the Spanish royal mines and in October 1538 was named governor of New Galicia, a province on the west coast of Mexico. As governor he had jurisdiction over Spanish explorations on the northern frontier.

Coronado and the Spanish conquistadors

Francisco Vásquez de Coronado, one of the greatest explorers in history, was a Spanish conquistador. The conquistadors were Spanish military leaders who ruled the New World during the sixteenth century. The first conquistadors were Francisco Pizarro, who conquered Peru, and Hernán Cortés, who conquered Mexico. Antonio de Mendoza, who ruled Mexico and Peru, was also a conquistador.

As a viceroy (one who rules in the name of the king), Mendoza continued the conquest begun by Cortés and established the foundation for Spanish rule in the New World for years to come. Although most conquistadors were considered ruthless, Mendoza was more civilized. Known as "the good viceroy," he encouraged education and religion, improved conditions for Native Americans, and brought the first printing press to America. He also expanded exploration northward.

Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca (whose name means "cow's head" in Spanish) was another well-known Spanish conquistador. He arrived in the New World in 1528. The story of his escape from Native Americans with the Moroccan slave Estevanico and two other men led to the legend of the fabulous "Seven Cities of Cibola." This tale grew after Fray Marcos de Niza wrote a fantastic version of Cabeza de Vaca's adventures. Inspired by the words of Fray Marcos, Coronado attempted but failed to discover the cities. Cabeza de Vaca eventually became governor of the Rio de la Plata region in South America.

Soon after taking over his duties, Coronado outfitted an expedition led by Estevanico (see entry), a "Moorish" (part African) slave, and Fray Marcos de Niza, a Franciscan friar (member of a Catholic religious order). They were heading north to verify reports of the fabulous "Seven Cities of Cibola" that had been brought to Mexico by Estevanico, who had been

[Image not available for copyright reasons]

a guide on an earlier expedition headed by Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca.

Fray Marcos and Estevanico left the town of Culiacán (the present-day capital of Sinaloa, a state in Mexico) on March 7, 1539. He returned alone about five and a half months later, since Estevanico had been killed at the pueblo (Native American communal dwelling) of Hawikuh. Fray Marcos said he had seen the very rich and very large city of Cibola from a distance. It is believed that he was referring to Hawikuh, which in actuality is a small pueblo. Since his own journal was contradictory, Fray Marcos embellished the story and ignited what would be an ill-fated expedition. At the time, however, Coronado was impressed enough to make plans to travel with Fray Marcos to Mexico City and bring back a report to Mendoza.

Discovers deception

Mendoza had long been interested in exploring the territory north of Mexico and was convinced by the friar's stories that further exploration might bring him wealth and power. He decided to equip an expedition at royal expense and named Coronado to head the venture. Coronado assembled a force of about three hundred Spaniards and nearly a thousand Native Americans at the west coast town of Compostela. Mendoza traveled to Compostela to review the expedition in person before it started out on February 25, 1540. The viceroy also sent two ships up the Gulf of California under the command of Hernando de Alarcón to support the expedition from the sea. Losing contact with Coronado, the ships sailed two hundred miles up the Colorado River.

Coronado traveled with his army to Culiacán. On April 22, he left with an advance force of about one hundred Spaniards, a number of Native Americans, and four friars. They proceeded up the Yaqui River valley (in present-day New Mexico), where they founded the town of San Geronimo. Leaving one of his officers, Melchor Díaz, in charge, Coronado took a group of soldiers toward the Gila River (in present-day New Mexico and Arizona). Díaz went up the Colorado near present-day Yuma, Arizona, and crossed into territory that is now California. He became the first European to explore this region. Meanwhile, Coronado and his men had crossed the Gila River and entered the Colorado Plateau. They reached Hawikuh in what is now western New Mexico in early July. The Spanish had no difficulty in capturing the town, but once inside they realized it did not come close to matching Fray Marcos's glowing description of wealth and riches. As a result, Coronado sent the friar back to Mexico in disgrace. One observer reported, "such were the curses that some hurled at Fray Marcos that I pray God may protect him from them."

On July 15 Coronado sent Pedro de Tovar and Fray Juan Padilla northwest to a province called Tusayan. They encountered the ancient villages of the Hopi (a Native American tribe) in what is now northern Arizona. Then they heard about a great river—the Colorado—to the west. The following month Garcia López de Cárdenas led a group in search of the river. Finally, they reached the edge of a great canyon and became the first Europeans to see Grand Canyon, one of the world's natural wonders.

The "Tiguex War"

In late August 1540 Coronado sent out another party to the east under the command of Pedro de Alvarado. They reached the pueblo of Acoma, perched high on a rock, where the inhabitants gave the Spaniards food. Alvarado then went to the town of Tiguex in the Rio Grande valley (near present-day Bemalillo). When he reported back that Tiguex had plenty of food supplies, Coronado decided to make his headquarters there. During the winter of 1540–41 the demands of the Spaniards for supplies, as well as conflict over women, led to the "Tiguex War." After capturing one pueblo, the Spanish burned two hundred of their captives alive. Several Spaniards were also killed during various engagements, and Coronado was wounded many times.

Coronado foiled again

Alvarado then traveled to the east to Cicuye (on the Pecos River), where he captured a Plains Indian (perhaps a Pawnee), whom the Spanish named "the Turk." The Turk told stories of the land of Quivira that was ruled by a powerful king and contained abundant quantities of gold. On April 23, 1541, Coronado left Tiguex to find Quivira and headed eastward into the Great Plains, where the Spanish saw enormous herds of buffalo. When they finally observed the meager material possessions of the nomadic Plains tribes, the Spanish realized they had been duped once again. A frustrated Coronado sent his main force back to the Rio Grand with large supplies of buffalo meat. He then took command of a small detachment that headed north and east for forty-two days, probably reaching central Kansas near the present-day town of Lyons. A member of the party reported that "Neither gold nor silver nor any trace of either was found." When the Turk confessed that he had lied in order to draw the Spaniards into the interior, some of the soldiers strangled him to death. (It is said that Coronado opposed his execution.)

The People

The story of Coronado is told in The People (1996), a Public Broadcasting System (PBS) television documentary on exploration and discovery in the American West. The program is available on videocassette.

Coronado charged with brutality

Now completely defeated, Coronado returned to Tiguex in October 1541. Shortly thereafter he was seriously injured in a riding accident and lingered near death for some time. By early 1542 the Spaniards were ready to return to Mexico. They left Tiguex in April and arrived in Mexico City in late autumn. Mendoza was angry that the expedition had not resulted in the discovery of treasures, but he gradually realized that Coronado had done his best. Mendoza reappointed Coronado governor of New Galicia in 1544.

In May 1544, however, a royal judge began a formal investigation of accusations that Coronado was guilty of brutality to the Native Americans. He was relieved of his duties as governor but was cleared of all charges two years later. He then became an official in the municipal government of Mexico City. In 1547 Coronado testified in favor of Mendoza during an investigation of the viceroy's rule. In reward for his services, he was given a land grant in 1549. Coronado's health continued to decline, however, and he died in Mexico City on September 22, 1554.

For further research

Bolton, Herbert E. Coronado: Knight of the Pueblos and Plains. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1964.

"Francisco Vásquez de Coronado." http://www.win.tue.nl/cs/fm/engels/discovery/coronado.html Available July 13, 1999.

Jacobs, William Jay. Coronado: Dreamer in Golden Armor. New York: F. Watts, 1994.

The People. Public Broadcasting System, 1996. Videocassette recording.

Syme, Ronald. Francisco Coronado and the Seven Cities of Gold. New York: Morrow, 1965.

What was Coronado searching for in the American Southwest?

What was Coronado searching for and what did he find?

What was Francisco Vasquez de Coronado searching for when he ventured into the Southwest and Great Plains of North America?

Did Francisco Vazquez de Coronado find what he was looking for?