The Mysterious Journey of Friar Marcos de Niza
In Brief:
Marcos de Niza was the first explorer to report the Seven Cities of Cibola, and his report
launched the Coronado expedition.
Marcos de Niza was a priest who was sent north from Mexico City by Viceroy Mendoza in 1538-39 to search for wealthy cities that were rumored to be somewhere north of the frontier of New Spain. In early 1539 he left the frontier at Compostela and journeyed north into the unknown for several months. In the summer of 1539 he returned and wrote a report saying he had discovered the cities in a province called Cibola (the present-day native American pueblo of Zuni, New Mexico). He said he reached the first city and saw it from a distance, but because his companion had been killed there, he returned without entering it.
Most popular writers claim Marcos reported gold in Cibola, but his original report says nothing about gold. Nonetheless, conquistadors in Mexico city were excited by his news and assumed Cibola would be as wealthy as the conquered Aztec empire. Marcos led Coronado's army back to Cibola the next year, in 1540, but he became the scapegoat when Cibola turned out to have no gold, and the soldiers said he was a liar.
The big mystery about Marcos is whether he told the truth. Historians have argued for centuries about whether Marcos - a priest with a good reputation - simply interviewed some natives near the present border, and turned back without seeing Cibola. Also at issue: did he promote the rumors that Cibola was full of gold? Several prominent 20th century historians concluded Marcos did not have time to reach Cibola in 1539. They said he made up a fraudulent report as part of a conspiracy with Viceroy Mendoza to encourage the conquest of the north. Other historians have defended him.
Origin of the Name "Cibola"
Marcos de Niza was the first person to record the name Cibola, reported to him by Estevan the Moor, who learned it from native informants. The term probably comes from a native term for buffalo, and refers to the vigorous trade in buffalo hides and other buffalo products, conducted from Cibola. As Marcos recorded from numerous interviews of natives in central and northern Sonora, the natives of that area made numerous trade trips, 20 to 30 days' journey north along the well-established Cibola trail, to work or trade at Cibola in return for buffalo hides, turquoise, and other materials. These facts give interesting insight into daily life of prehistoric peoples of southwest North America at the time the Europeans arrived.
After reading answer the question, Read the section, "Origins of the name Cibola," and desube how the name came to be. 1-2 sentences