Francisco Vasquez de Coronado
Born in 1510 died in 1554. He came to the Americas to seek glory and wealth. He and his crew had battles with natives near the Rio Grande River. He took one as a slave, and named him Turk. A string of Indian settlements built near what is now West-Central New Mexico (near the Arizona border) by the Zuni Pueblo tribes inspired tales of the Seven Golden Cities of Cíbola, the mythic empire of riches that Francisco Vásquez de Coronado was seeking in his expedition of 1540-42.The 16th-century Spanish explorer Francisco Vázquez de Coronado (c. 1510-1554) was serving as governor of an important province in New Spain (Mexico) when he heard reports of the so-called Seven Golden Cities located to the north. In 1540, Coronado led a major Spanish expedition up Mexico's western coast and into the region that is now the southwestern United States. Though the explorers found none of the storied treasure, they did discover the Grand Canyon and other major physical landmarks of the region, and clashed violently with local Indians. With his expedition labeled a failure by Spanish colonial authorities, Coronado returned to Mexico, where he died in 1554.More to Explore
Coronado's reunited expedition spent the winter of 1540-41 on the Rio Grande at Kuana (near modern-day Santa Fe). They fought off several Indian attacks, and in the spring of 1541 moved into Palo Duro Canyon, in modern-dayTexas. Coronado himself then led a smaller group north in search of another rumored store of riches at Quivira (now Kansas), only to be disappointed again when all they found was another Indian village.
Coronado returned to Mexico in 1542 and resumed his post in Nueva Galicia, but his wealth had been greatly depleted and his position was far more tenuous than before. Mendoza publicly dismissed the expedition as a failure, and two separate investigations were opened into Coronado's conduct as its leader. He was largely cleared of all charges, but was removed from his governorship in 1544 and spent the last decade of his life as a member of the city council of Mexico City.
Coronado returned to Mexico in 1542 and resumed his post in Nueva Galicia, but his wealth had been greatly depleted and his position was far more tenuous than before. Mendoza publicly dismissed the expedition as a failure, and two separate investigations were opened into Coronado's conduct as its leader. He was largely cleared of all charges, but was removed from his governorship in 1544 and spent the last decade of his life as a member of the city council of Mexico City.