Renaissance · North America · Exploration

1540

Coronado Marches for Cibola

1540

Francisco Vazquez de Coronado led a glittering expedition of three hundred Spaniards and thirteen hundred native allies out of Compostela in search of the Seven Cities of Gold. He found dusty Pueblo villages instead and pushed on into Kansas, dragging disappointment across half a continent. His expedition produced the first European descriptions of the Grand Canyon, the Pueblo peoples, and the great bison herds of the prairie.

More from 1540 Renaissance

In context

Also in 1540 (5 other events on record)

Jesuits Officially Approved · Europe · Religion
Sher Shah Suri Drives Out Humayun · South Asia · War
Ming Wakou Piracy Surges · East Asia · War
Henry VIII Divorces Anne of Cleves · Europe · Politics
Jesuits Arrive in Portugal's Empire · Europe · Religion

Before and after in North America

Before: 1539: First Printing Press in the Americas
After: 1541: De Soto Crosses the Mississippi

Before and after in Exploration

Before: 1539: Hernando de Soto Lands in Florida
After: 1541: Orellana Descends the Amazon

Era

Renaissance (1501–1650), one of 715 events from that era on Saeculum.