NEW MEXICO HISTORY - THE DISCOVERS

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      June 18, 2000

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Spanish Exploration

	The second group of people in New Mexico were the Spanish explorers, forever searching 
for gold, silver, and other precious minerals.  Spain was a mighty power when Columbus first 
set foot in the Caribbean and her sons came to America to conquer. Conquistadors searched for 
power as a right, convinced that the New World lay empty for the taking - for adding to the 
might of the rapidly expanding Spanish hold along the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts.
	Francisco Vásquez de Coronado was the conquerer given credit for the discovery of the 
American desert dwellers who harvested gold like common grass, but the first explorer to see 
New Mexico was probably Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca. De Vaca was shipwrecked off Galveston 
Island in Texas and he and three companions wandered for eight years over the American 
deserts before finally finding Mexico City.
	De Vaca’s arrival in Mexico City revived the legends of the Seven Cities of Gold and 
the Viceroy of New Spain, Antonio de Mendoza, sent Fray Marcos de Niza with de Vaca’s slave, 
Estevan, to search for the gold.
	Estevan and de Niza followed de Vaca’s trail, spreading the word of God, claiming the 
land for Spain, and constantly searching for gold. At every city and village, they heard that 
the people in the next village had gold. At every village, they converted the natives to 
Christianity.  At last de Niza sent Estevan ahead to scout the way and send back reports.  
Estevan was told to send back a small cross if he had news, larger crosses for more important 
news.
	When Estevan sent back a man sized cross, de Niza set out after him. Estevan had 
heard of Cíbola. Estevan left crosses and de Niza followed. Estevan always staying one step 
ahead. No one knows the exact routes taken by Estevan and de Niza, but we do know they 
crossed the Gila River. Estevan was killed by the natives, many supposing it was because of 
his habit of shaking a feathered gourd. The Natives saw him as a witch rather than an 
explorer. When de Niza learned of Estevan’s death, he turned back toward Mexico.
	Friar Marcos reported that he had seen the first of the Seven Cities, Háwikuh, an 
adobe city in New Mexico. Viceroy Mendoza was overwhelmed by requests to lead an expedition 
to the gold. He finally chose Francisco de Coronado. De Coronado was the ideal conquistador, 
the son of a good family of Salamanca, an officer in the Spanish Army. He was already a 
successful man in his various civil posts including the governorship of Sinaloa, the capital 
of which, Culiacán, lay well along the route taken by de Niza.
	De Coronado took with him an army in all its glory. Young men rushed to joined him. 
In a very short time, Coronado had three hundred young men, many of them mounted and wearing 
resplendent armor. Hundreds of burden bearing, working natives followed the army of Spaniards 
into the desert.
	The army gathered at Compostela, about 500 miles northwest of Mexico City. The 
Viceroy came to see them off. Among the notables in this expedition were five Portuguese, 
two Italians, one Frenchman, one Scot, one German, and even three women. The majority of the 
Europeans were under thirty years of age. On February 22, 1540, Coronado’s army left 
Compostela led by Fray Marcos.
	The army quickly learned that New Mexico was an extremely harsh place. Horses 
foundered and men sickened from eating native plants. The young gentlemen were soon hardened 
into tough pioneers. The army lost horses crossing the Despoblado, food became scarce. The 
mountains were difficult and they lost pack animals. They finally made it to the Colorado 
River and followed it to its junction with the Zuñi. There, an advanced guard had an 
unfriendly brush with the Cíbolan natives. Coronado decided to ignore the warning and within 
days he had his first sight of Cibola.
	The adobe city was so disappointing to the Spaniards that one wrote in his diary that 
he prayed for Friar Marcos’ safety. The natives were extremely hostile to Coronado’s plans to 
conquer them and add them to Spain’s realm. The adobe walls of the city made it a fortress 
and the stones and arrows of the inhabitants further discouraged the army, but in the end, 
Coronado won - within an hour.
	In a letter to Mendoza dated August 3, 1540, Coronado reported that he had gained 
food for his men from the Zuñi people. He described the city and noted that he thought the 
natives worshipped water. After resting at this pueblo, the army continued to another kingdom 
where they were assured they would find gold. Coronado came to New Mexico and conquered it 
bit by bit. Resistance was met with battles and the natives were eventually subdued. As we 
know, Coronado never found his city of gold, but one his officers was the first European to 
see the Grand Canyon and others made it all the way to California.