Alex

Alex





 Francisco Coronado

Have you ever wondered who discovered the Grand Canyon? Well the explorer’s name is Francisco Coronado and I'm going to tell you a little more about him. He was born in the year 1510 in Salamanca Spain. He had great education because of his family status. The name of his ship was Chebe La Diminioz. He was courageous, and adventurous. He was best known for discovering most of southern North America. In 1535 he moved to Mexico. He married a wealthy women in 1537 at the age of 17. Francisco Coronado’s first exploration was in 1540. He was sent out to find the Seven Cities of Gold by the leader of Mexico. He headed out of Nueva Galician with more than 300 Spanish Conquistadors, 800 allied Indians, and almost 1000 black and Indian slaves. He ended up in New Mexico and Arizona. He conquered the Hopi Pueblos in his travels. Plus, he discovered the Grand Canyon, and explored Gila, Colorado, Pecos and Rio Grande Rivers. Later in April that year he led a army of about 100 soldiers and natives along the Sierre Madre in the region of northwest Mexico. On July 7, 1540 Coronado came upon the Zuni Pueblo in Hawikuh. The Zuni were soon captured by the Spaniards because they thought they had gold. But they proved to have no gold or any riches. A little later that July, Coronado set up headquarters in Hawikuh and later he sent out a expedition into the northwest to search for another city of gold hoping to find one. In 1541, Coronado explored Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. In 1542, Francisco Coronado started to head home. He had failed to find the Cities of Gold but made a huge journey through America. Francisco Coronado was considered an failure by the leader of Mexico, but he allowed him to stay at the post as governor. However in 1544, he was accused of being very cruel to the Indians so he was fired from governor and was sent to a minor position in Mexico City. In September 1554 Coronado died. In my opinion, even though he was considered an epic failure Coronado discovered a lot of land for Spain, including the Grand Canyon and Colorado River. So I think he was amazing for discovering most of the southwest.

 By,  Alex