Conquistador

Expedition.

In 1536 Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca and the three other survivors of the Panfilo de Narvaez expedition finally reached Mexico City after wandering through present-day Texas for eight years. Though these men had seen no treasure during the time they spent living among the Indians, they had heard rumors of several large, wealthy cities located to the northwest of Spain's Mexican possessions. Their story of an Indian civilization akin to the Aztec Empire elicited great interest among the Spaniards living in Mexico City, particularly the viceroy of New Spain, Antonio Mendoza. De Vaca's account persuaded Mendoza to send one of his proteges, Francisco Vasquez de Coronado, governor of the province of Nueva Galicia, to locate and take possession of what many Spaniards had concluded were the fabled Seven Cities of Cibola. Coronado was forbidden from indiscriminately attacking Indians or looting...