VHS+History+Lesson+3+A+Treasure+Hunt



After the Americas were discovered, many Spanish Conquistadors explored the new land.

These people did not plan to live in the Americas. They wanted to find gold and other treasure. The conquistadors wanted to be famous and make their country proud.



Conquistadors explored Mexico, Florida, the Caribbean islands, and parts of South America. They went up the coast of California, through the Gulf of Mexico, and all across the Southwest.

When the conquistadors returned to Spain, they brought stories of what they had seen. A Spanish officer named Cabeza de Vaca told a legend he had heard about the Seven Cities of Cibola. The Native American legend described a village full of treasure.



Francisco Coranado, a conquistador, heard Cabeza de Vaca's story. Coronado wanted to find the Seven Cities of Cibola.



In 1539, Coronado sent a group out from Mexico City to look for Cibola.

The group was led by Fray Marcos and Estevan, a slave who had traveled with Cabeza da Vaca. Estevan went ahead of the group and sent reports to Fray Marcos. The group traveled across Arizona and New Mexico. One day, Estevan saw a Native American town that was made of adobe. The walls were covered with yellow soil that shone in the sun and looked golden.



Estevan thought he had found the Seven Cities of Cibola. He made a friendly signal to the Native Americans, but they did not understand. They thought he was an enemy so they killed him.



Fray Marcos saw what happened from a distance. He then went back to Mexico City to tell Coronado that Cibola was real and larger than Mexico City. In 1540, Coronado and Fray Marcos led an army to the village. Instead of finding gold, the expedition found only a group of small Native American villages. The villages were made of mud and clay.



Coronado and his soldiers were disappointed, but they kept going. They hoped to find gold or other riches somewhere else. Although the explorers never found treasure, they discovered one of North America's most famous landforms which is the Grand Canyon.