Francisco Marquez De Coronado Essay

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Francisco Vasquez de Coronado: The Search for the Seven Cities of Gold Francisco Vasquez de Coronado was unquestionably one of the most influential explorers of the New World. Close friend of the Viceroy of New Spain and governor of Nueva Galicia for a time, his influence in the Spanish colonies was great, even before he set off on his great expedition to the north. Exploring the far reaches of the Rio Grande River, nearly reaching the southern border of Nebraska, traveling through the great “Staked Plains”, and being the first Europeans to lay eyes upon the Grand Canyon, his expedition was one of the most expansive and thorough explorations of the New World led by Europeans. Claiming great tracts of land across the Pecos River for Spain, …show more content…

His father was Juan Vazquez de Coronado y Sosa de Ulloa, a man who held many positions in the administration of the newly conquered Emirate of Granada, the last Muslim stronghold on the Iberian Peninsula to fall to the Reconquista. Francisco, being the second son of Juan Vazquez de Coronado y Sosa de Ulloa, he knew he had no hope of inheriting the family’s vast fortune, so he set off for the New World in 1535. Francisco accompanied his close friend Antonio de Mendoza, who so happened to be the newly appointed Viceroy of New Spain. Here Coronado married Beatriz de Estrada, who was known as “the Saint”. The daughter of Treasurer and Governor Alonso de Estrada y Hidalgo, she possessed a large portion of land in a Mexican estate, which Coronado inherited as a result of their marriage. De Coronado sired eight children with Beatriz, and in 1539 he is appointed to the office of Governor of Nueva …show more content…

As Alvarado was returning from Pecos, Alvarado noted that de Coronado should move his force to Tiguex for the winter, and seized control of a Pueblo after a short battle, forcing the natives to leave with nothing but the clothes on their backs. He renamed the Pueblo “Coofor” Coronado used Coofor as a military base to demand supplies from the Tiwa people. At first, the expedition traded beads and trinkets for food and clothing for their winter in Coofor. Eventually, supplies grew scarce for the pueblos, and they resisted further trades. Coronado then ordered his men to “take what they needed”. In the winter of 1540-1541, at least on of the pueblo women was raped, and the expeditions' livestock consumed much of the corn the pueblos used to cook in the winter. In December of 1540, the Tiwas responded by killing 60 of the expeditions’ horses and mules. Coronado declared a war of “fire and blood”, which became the Tiguex war. He sent Cardenas with a large force of men and Mexican Indian allies to take a pueblo the Spaniards called Arenal. All of Arenal’s defenders were killed, including an estimated 30 Tiwas who were burned at the stake. The Tiwas retreated from their riverside Pueblos to a mesa-top stronghold named Moho. There was likely a second mesa-top stronghold, but Spanish accounts differ on this matter. Coronado was unable

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