An 1898 painting by Frederic Remington portrays Spanish explorer Francisco Vazquez de Coronado on his ill-fated quest in 1541 to find the fabled Seven Cities of Cibola. The expedition, which included hundreds of soldiers and Native American guides, lasted two years and traversed some 4,000 miles (6,400 kilometers) of the American West. In the end, no cities of gold were found, and Coronado returned empty-handed and in debt.
Photograph by MPI/Getty Images
Photograph by MPI/Getty Images
In 1539, Friar Marcos de Niza, a Franciscan priest, reported to Spanish colonial officials in Mexico City that he’d seen the legendary city of Cibola in what is now New Mexico. It was an electrifying statement—Spanish explorers who were scouring the New World for Native American treasure had heard persistent tales of the fantastic wealth of the so-called Seven Cities of Cibola.
“It is situated on a level stretch on the brow of a roundish hill,” the friar said. “It appears to be a very beautiful city, the best that I have seen in these parts.” The priest acknowledged, however, that he had only seen the city from a distance and had not entered it because he thought the Zuni Indian inhabitants would kill him if he approached.
But when a large and expensive Spanish expedition returned to the area in 1541, they found only a modest adobe pueblo that wasn’t anything resembling what the priest described. T
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