Francisco Vásquez de Coronado - SpeedyLook encyclopedia

Biography

After its arrival on the American continent, Coronado is characterized by its capacity to alleviate and pacify the natives. It is thus named governor of News-Galicia (currently Sinaloa and Nayarit with the Mexico) in 1538. It is sent on a journey towards north, with the New Mexico where it meets Marcos de Niza which spoke to him about the fabulous richnesses of a city called Cibola. This sharpens the interest of Coronado which decides to launch out in the search of this city of Or. It leaves in 1540, accompanied by a troop made up of 340 Spaniards, 300 allied natives and a thousand of Indian and African slaves.

According to the coast of the Mer of the Cortes, it progresses towards north and the Sonora, crosses the Gila and arrives at Cibola, in the west of what is today the state of the New Mexico. However, disappointment was of size: well far from the prosperous gold city described by Marcos, Cibola was in fact only one village of Indians Zuñi. Marcos is returned to Mexico for its lie.

Coronado conquers Cibola and explores six other Zuni villages. It launches many other forwardings: Melchior Diaz is sent towards the Colorado to the meeting of Hernando de Alarcón charged to bring provisions to Coronado. Pedro de Tovar is sent to north and hears of a large river a little more in the west of the Coronado river. Garcia Lopez de Cardenas, sent in the search of this river, is the first European to see the Large Canyon. Hernando de Alvarado is sent towards the east and finds villages around the Río Grande. It settles in one of them to spend the winter (with Tiguex, today Bernalillo with the New Mexico). During their hivernation, the members of forwarding must push back many attacks of Indians.

Coronado then meets an Indian whom it calls the Turk and who speaks to him about Quivira, a rich ground in the North-West. It decides to leave to its research, taking the Turk like guide. They cross the North of New Mexico and the North of the current Texas. However, the Turk lies on the way to take, or at least Coronado thinks it: it thus makes carry out its guide.

Other natives allow him to reach Quivira, a village meadows of current the Lindsborg with the Kansas, but its disappointment is repeated. The Quivira Indians (called then Indian Wichita) are not rich, the village offering only huts to the roofs of Chaume, the whole without one ounce of gold in trimmings. Coronado turns over then to Tiguex where it left large its forces and where it spends a new winter.

In 1542, it goes back to Mexico by where it had come, but with only 100 men. Even if this forwarding were a disaster (except the discovery of the Large Canyon), there remains governor of Galicia News until in 1544, then he withdraws himself with Mexico City where he dies in 1554.

External bonds

Biography of Francisco de Coronado

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