Did you know In New Spain Coronado heard stories about gold Spanish explorer Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca had led an unsuccessful expedition to find Cibola a region said to contain the Seven Cities of Gold Meet the Boss Francisco Vázquez de Coronado left Spain as a young man to seek his fortune in the Americas He would lead an important expedition into what is now the Southwestern United States LIMITED OPPORTUNITIES Younger sons inherit nothing Francisco Vázquez de Coronado also Vásquez was born in 1510 the second son of a wealthy family in Salamanca Spain His older brother inherited the family’s wealth so Coronado had to make his own fortune Like many young Spaniards of the time Coronado decided to seek his fortune in the empire Spain was creating in the New World meaning the Americas In 1535 he traveled to New Spain present-day Mexico with his friend Antonio de Mendoza Mendoza was the first viceroy of New Spain A HELPFUL MARRIAGE Happy and profitable union In Mexico City Coronado worked for Mendoza in the Spanish government He also married Beatriz de Estrada the daughter of a senior Spanish official Beatriz was only 12 while Coronado was about 27 Such marriages would not be allowed today but were sometimes made at that time for social or political reasons Through Beatriz Coronado acquired one of the largest estates in New Spain The couple later had eight children 4 TRAVEL WITH THE GREAT EXPLORERS
Enslaved been enslaved The Spaniards had conquered Mexico in 1521 Many of the Native peoples living there such as the Aztec had died from diseases brought by the Spaniards The rest had My Explorer Journal Imagine that you are just like Coronado and your chances of earning a decent living at home are limited Write a letter to your parents explaining your reasons for wanting to sail to New Spain GAINING PROMOTION Shows loyalty to the Spanish crown Coronado worked hard for Viceroy Mendoza The Spaniards forced Native slaves to work in gold and silver mines The slaves rebelled to try to gain their freedom Coronado helped end the rebellions by force Mendoza rewarded Coronado by making him governor of the frontier province of New Galicia shown on this old map above left EXPLORE WITH FRANCISCO VÁZQUEZ DE CORONADO 5 RUMORS FROM THE NORTH Hears of treasure Puts faith in a monk Coronado wanted to discover new lands and gold for Spain In 1539 he heard of a monk named Fray Marcos de Niza The monk had traveled north of New Spain with a Moroccan slave named Estevan Estevan had stayed with the Zuni people in Cibola Fray Marcos returned to Mexico with stories of the wealthy city of Cibola He claimed it was as large and rich as Mexico City itself Coronado believed it must be one of the Seven Cities of Gold he had heard stories about
Where Are We Heading Viceroy Mendoza and Coronado funded a large expedition to find Cibola Coronado’s journey covered more than 4,000 miles 6,437 km THE CITIES OF CIBOLA Hard traveling through the desert leads to disappointment Did you know Some Spaniards thought that India and China lay to the north of New Spain and could be reached overland They hoped it might be possible to open trade routes to Asia In July 1540 after traveling four months across deserts and over mountains Coronado’s expedition reached what they thought was the city of Cibola But they did not find a city of gold Instead they found Hawikuh Hawikuh was a pueblo or a village of interlocking homes made from baked earth The pueblo was home to the Zuni a group of Native peoples also known as Pueblo peoples 6 TRAVEL WITH THE GREAT EXPLORERS THE GRAND CANYON A first for Europeans Coronado and his men used the name Cibola not only for the city they hoped to find but also for the whole region Coronado sent out groups to explore this region García López de Cárdenas and his team used guides from the local Hopi people to march north After 20 days he and his men reached the edge of a huge gorge with a river far below making them the first Europeans to see the Grand Canyon
PAINTED DESERT Beautiful but inhospitable One group of Spaniards traveled northeast of Cibola exploring what is now known as the Colorado Plateau They also came across the Painted Desert below where layers of rock create a multicolored display Also called badlands the area covers 7,500 square miles 19,425 sq km The country itself is the best I have ever seen for producing all the products of Spain what I am sure of is that there is not any gold nor any other metal in all that country Francisco de Coronado writing about Quivira RENEWED HOPE Coronado believes the Turk Crosses the grasslands In spring 1541 Coronado headed north from the region he called Cibola A Pawnee prisoner known as the Turk had told him stories about a magnificent city called Quivira Coronado thought this must be one of the Cities of Gold The Spaniards crossed the plains of what is now the Texas Panhandle to Kansas When they reached Quivira they found a farming settlement of grass-covered huts EXPLORE WITH FRANCISCO VÁZQUEZ DE CORONADO 7
