The Mythical Seven Cities of Cíbola
The early 16th century marked a period of burgeoning colonial power for Spain in the New World. Riches flowed from the conquered territories of Mexico and Peru, filling the Spanish treasury with gold and fueling further expansionist ambitions. The northern frontier of New Spain, a mere few hundred miles north of Mexico City, represented a gateway to an uncharted land, a vast expanse that sparked the imaginations of conquistadors and adventurers alike. Since the arrival of the Spanish in the "New World," tales of unimaginable wealth lurking in these unexplored territories had circulated widely, serving as a potent lure. These alluring narratives had drawn figures like Hernán Cortés to Mexico in 1519, Pánfilo de Narváez to Florida, and Francisco Pizarro to Peru in the years that followed. While many expeditions met with failure and hardship, the occasional success story was enough to sustain the dream that untold riches were within reach, waiting for the opportune moment to be seized.
This atmosphere of hopeful anticipation set the stage for a pivotal event in 1536. In that year, Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca and three weary companions, the only survivors of the ill-fated Narváez Expedition, stumbled into Mexico City after enduring eight long years of wandering through the lands that now comprise the American Southwest. The arrival of these men, bearing firsthand accounts of the mysterious north, caused a sensation. Everyone listened with rapt attention as they recounted stories of an incredible land containing seven "large cities, with streets lined with goldsmith shops, houses of many stories, and doorways studded with emeralds and turquoise!" These vivid descriptions ignited a fever of excitement and speculation.
Antonio de Mendoza, the Viceroy of New Spain (Mexico), recognized the potential significance of these accounts. Eager to determine the veracity of the tales and assess the possibilities for further expansion, Mendoza resolved to explore this uncharted territory. In 1539, he commissioned Fray Marcos de Niza, a Franciscan friar, to lead an exploratory expedition. Accompanying Fray Marcos were several native guides and Estevanico, a Moor who had been one of Cabeza de Vaca’s companions during his arduous journey. Estevanico’s experience in the region made him an invaluable asset to the expedition. The primary objective was clear: to locate and investigate the legendary Seven Cities of Cíbola.
Fray Marcos returned to Mexico City within a year, bringing with him both good news and bad. He reported the tragic death of Estevanico, who had been killed by hostile indigenous peoples. However, the friar also brought tantalizing accounts of his own discoveries, claiming to have seen the fabled Seven Cities of Cíbola from a distance.
Despite the somewhat vague and potentially embellished nature of Fray Marcos’s report, Viceroy Mendoza was captivated by the possibility of the cities’ existence. He was determined to mount a more comprehensive and official expedition to thoroughly explore the region. For this crucial mission, Mendoza selected Francisco Vásquez de Coronado, a close friend and trusted advisor. Coronado had arrived in Mexico in 1535 and quickly ascended the ranks of colonial society, largely due to his friendship with the viceroy and his successful completion of previous assignments. He had served as a prominent member of the Mexico City council and was later appointed governor of the northern frontier province of New Galicia. On January 6, 1540, Mendoza officially commissioned Coronado as the commander of the expedition and granted him the title of captain-general of all the lands he might discover and claim for Spain. However, before Coronado departed, the viceroy emphasized that the primary purpose of the expedition was missionary work, not military conquest. The Seven Cities of Cíbola held the promise of new souls to convert.
The expedition was rapidly organized, and on February 23, 1540, it departed from Compostela, a town on the west coast of Mexico. Coronado’s company consisted of Fray Marcos and several other priests, over 300 Spanish soldiers, several hundred Mexican-Indian allies, and a staggering 1,500 stock animals, including horses, cattle, and sheep. Additional supplies for the expedition were sent north by sea under the command of Captain Hernando de Alarcón. After reaching Culiacán, Coronado, eager to lay eyes on the legendary Seven Cities of Cíbola, pressed ahead with a vanguard of 100 soldiers, leaving the slower-moving main army behind.
On July 7, 1540, Coronado and his advance party arrived at Hawikuh, a Zuni pueblo located south of present-day Gallup, New Mexico. This was believed to be the first of the fabled Seven Cities of Cíbola. However, the reality that greeted the Spaniards was a stark contrast to the glittering visions of gold and riches that had fueled their journey. Instead of a magnificent metropolis, they encountered a modest rock-masonry pueblo, inhabited by Zuni warriors prepared to defend their village. After several unsuccessful attempts at peaceful negotiation, the Spaniards launched an attack, forcing the Zuni to abandon their homes. The pueblo, though lacking in gold, proved to be well-stocked with much-needed food supplies and became Coronado’s headquarters for the next several months. Fray Marcos, whose exaggerated tales had raised such high expectations, was ordered to return to Mexico City amidst a growing atmosphere of anger and disappointment. The promise of the Seven Cities of Cíbola had proven to be a mirage.
While stationed at Hawikuh, Coronado dispatched his captains to explore the surrounding region in search of other settlements and resources. Don Pedro de Tovar led his troops to the Hopi Indian villages in northeastern Arizona. Simultaneously, García López de Cárdenas and his men ventured as far west as the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River, becoming the first Europeans to witness this natural wonder. A third captain, Hernando de Alvarado, marched eastward past the Acoma and Tiguex pueblos to Cicuye (Pecos) pueblo, near modern-day Santa Fe. At Pecos, Alvarado encountered a Plains Indian known as "The Turk," who regaled them with stories of an incredibly wealthy land further to the east called Quivira.
The Turk’s tales rekindled the Spaniards’ hopes of finding the great riches that had so far eluded them. However, with winter fast approaching, further exploration had to be postponed until the spring. The army settled in for the winter at Tiguex, where they initially enjoyed a seemingly friendly relationship with the local inhabitants. However, tensions soon escalated as the Spaniards committed acts of disrespect and violated the norms of hospitality. The situation deteriorated into open hostility, culminating in a series of battles. The Spaniards responded with brutal force, killing the inhabitants 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 forty long days of travel across the vast plains, Coronado, growing suspicious of The Turk’s increasingly improbable stories, sent the majority of his men back to Tiguex and continued marching northeast with a small detachment. Upon finally arriving at Quivira, near modern-day Salina, Kansas, the Spaniards were once again bitterly disappointed. The villages they found were nothing more than primitive grass huts, a far cry from the opulent cities described by The Turk.
When pressed for an explanation, The Turk finally confessed that the story of Quivira was nothing more than a fabrication, concocted by the Pueblo Indians to lure the Spaniards out onto the plains in the hope that they would become lost and eventually perish from starvation and exposure. Enraged by this deception, the Spaniards executed The Turk. Coronado and his men, their dreams of wealth and glory shattered, began their long and arduous journey back home, consumed by bitterness and disappointment.
His dreams of fame and fortune in ruins, Coronado finally reached Mexico City in the spring of 1542. Though publicly scorned and discredited for his failure to find the Seven Cities of Cíbola and the promised riches, he was eventually reinstated as governor of New Galicia. He and his captains were subsequently summoned to answer for their actions during the expedition, and it took four more years before Coronado was able to clear his family’s name. Ten years after his return, he died in relative obscurity at the age of 42. However, he could not have known that his courageous, albeit ultimately unsuccessful, expedition had laid the foundation for the larger-than-life saga of the American West. The indigenous populations subtly incorporated aspects of the priests’ teachings into their own religious beliefs. Furthermore, Coronado’s expedition brought knowledge of the previously mysterious land and its inhabitants to the attention of the wider world. He paved the way for later Spanish explorers and missionaries to colonize the Southwest, contributing to the development of the distinctive Hispanic-American culture that thrives in the region today.