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 Coronado's Seven Cities
Early
in the 16th century, Spain established a rich colonial empire in the New
World. From Mexico to Peru, gold poured into her treasury and new
lands were opened for settlement. The northern frontier lay only a few
hundred miles north of Mexico City; and beyond that was a land unknown.
Tales of unimaginable riches in this land had fired the Spanish
imagination ever since Spain's discovery of the "New World". They lured
Hernando Cortéz to Mexico in 1519, followed
shortly thereafter by Parfilo de Narváez to
Florida and Francisco Pizarro to Peru. Many expeditions ended in
failure, but there were enough successes to keep alive the dream that
great wealth lay within the grasp of anyone with the opportunity to
seize it.
Such was the situation in 1536 when Cabeza de Vaca and three
tattered companions, sole survivors of the shipwrecked Narvaez
Expedition, arrived in Mexico City after eight years of
wandering through what is now the American Southwest. Everyone
listened intently to their story of an incredible land to the
north comprised of seven "large cities, with streets lined with
goldsmith shops, houses of many stories, and doorways studded
with emeralds and turquoise!" Antonio de Mendoza, Viceroy of
New Spain (Mexico), was anxious to explore this new land to
determine if the stories were true. In 1539 he sent Fray Marcos
de Niza, accompanied by some guides and Estévan,
a Moor who had been with Cabeza de Vaca, to find out. Fray
Marcos returned within a year with sad testimony of Estévan's
death at the hands of hostile Indians. However, his report also
made mention of the "Seven Cities of Cibola."
Though Fray
Marcos' report was garbled and exaggerated, Viceroy Mendoza was
convinced of the cities' existence. He promptly began planning
an official expedition and chose his close friend, Francisco Vásquez
de Coronado, to lead it. Coronado had come to Mexico in 1535
and through his friendship with the viceroy and past successful
missions, rapidly rose in status. After serving as a prominent
member of the Mexico City council, he was appointed governor of
the northern frontier province of New Galicia. On January 6,
1540, Mendoza commissioned him expedition commander and
captain-general of all the lands he might discover and claim for
Spain. The viceroy, however, counseled Coronado prior to his
departure and cautioned him that the quest was to be a
missionary undertaking, not one of military conquest.
Quickly
organized, the expedition left Compostela, on Mexico's west
coast, on February 23, 1540. Accompanying Coronado were Fray
Marcos and several other priests, over 300 Spanish soldiers,
several hundred Mexican-Indian allies, and 1,500 stock animals.
Additional supplies for the expedition were sent north by ship
under the command of Captain Hernando de Alarcón.
After reaching Culiacán, Coronado
and 100 soldiers, anxious to behold Cibola, marched swiftly
ahead of the slower-moving main army. Expedition
Route Map
On July 7, 1540,
they arrived at Háwikuh, south of
present-day Gallup, New Mexico, and first of the fabled Cities
of Cibola. But a major disappointment awaited the Spaniards.
Instead of a golden city, they saw only a rock-masonry pueblo
occupied by Indians who were prepared to defend their village.
After several unsuccessful attempts at a peaceful negotiation,
the Spaniards attacked and forced the Indians to abandon the
village. The pueblo, well-stocked with much needed food, became
Coronado's headquarters through November. Fray Marcos, whose
tales had raised so many hopes of wealth and fortune, was
ordered back to Mexico City amidst a rising tide of anger and
bitter resentment.
While at Háwikuh,
Coronado sent his captains out to explore the surrounding
region. Don Pedro de Tovar and his troops reached the Hopi
Indian villages in northeastern Arizona while Garcia López
de Cárdenas and his men traveled as
far west as the Grand Canyon of the Colorado. A third captain,
Hernando de Alvarado marched eastward past Acoma and Tiguex
pueblos to Cicuye (Pecos) pueblo, near modern-day Santa Fe. It
was here that they met "The Turk," a Plains Indian who astounded
them with his tales of an unbelievably rich land further to the
east, called Quivira. The Turk's stories renewed hopes among
the Spaniards of finding the great wealth that had thus far
eluded them, however, with winter approaching, further
exploration had to wait until spring. The army wintered at
Tiguex with the seemingly friendly inhabitants. However, the
Indians' mood soon turned to open hostility when violations of
hospitality and friendship were commited by the Spaniards. A
series of battles followed, resulting in the Spaniards killing
the occupants of one pueblo and forcing the abandonment of
several others.
On April 23, 1541, the entire army set out
for Quivira, guided by The Turk. After 40 long days of travel,
Coronado sent most of his men back to Tiguex and continued
marching northeast with a small detachment. Upon arriving at
Quivira, near modern-day Salina, Kansas, they were disillusioned
once again. The villages before them were nothing more than
primitive grass huts. When pressed for an explanation, The Turk
finally confessed that the story of Quivira was nothing more
than a plot conceived by the Pueblo Indians to lure the
Spaniards out onto the plains in hopes that they would become
lost and eventually die of starvation. In furious anger at
having been so gullible and so easily led astray, the soldiers
executed The Turk. Coronado and his men soonafter began their
long grueling return march back home mired in bitter
disappointment at having failed their mission
Coronado, his dreams of fame and fortune
shattered, finally reached Mexico City in the spring of 1542.
Although publicly scorned and discreditied, he again resumed his
position of governor of New Galicia. He and his captains were
subsequently called in to account for their actions during the
quest, and it was four more years before Coronado succeeded in
clearing his family's name. Ten years after his return, at the
age of 42, he died in relative obscurity. He could not know,
however, that his courage had set the stage for the
larger-than-life saga of the great American West. The Indians'
religions changed subtly to incorporate the teachings of the
priests who accompanied him. Furthermore, he brought back
knowledge of the once mysterious land and people to the north
and opened a way for later Spanish explorers and missionaries to
colonize the Southwest, developing the distinctive
Hispanic-American culture we know today. |
