Francisco Vasquez de Coronado

Francisco Vasquez de Coronado (1510?-1554), was a Spanish explorer. From 1540 to 1542, he led an expedition to the American Southwest in search of the legendary Seven Cities of Cibola. Earlier Spanish explorers had told of these cities, which were said to be rich in gold and other treasures.

Coronado was born in Salamanca, Spain. In 1535, he sailed to Mexico with Antonio de Mendoza, the first viceroy of New Spain, which included what is now Mexico. Coronado became governor of New Galicia province, northwest of Mexico City, in 1538.

In 1539, Marcos de Niza, a Spanish missionary priest, returned to New Spain from a journey to the north. He claimed to have seen a golden city, Cibola, among the Zuni Indians in the region. Niza's account and stories by Alva Nunez Cabeza de Vaca and other Spanish explorers led to Coronado's Cibola expedition.

Coronado gathered his army in Compostela, the capital of New Galicia, at the end of February 1540. He recruited more than 300 Spanish soldiers and over 1,000 Indian soldiers and servants, many of whom were accompanied by their wives and children. Several missionary priests also went with the expedition.

In July, Coronado reached the place he identified as Cibola, in the area of what is now Gallup, New Mexico. The Zuni Indians there fought to defend their territory, but the Spaniards defeated them and established a camp at the site. To the Spaniards' bitter disappointment, the town they thought was the legendary Cibola was not a golden city. It was instead a small village called Hawikuh, which was inhabited by about 100 families.

Taken from http://www.worldbook.com

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