Dailey ArleneThe first strangers seen in Arizona were probably soldiers of a Spanish expedition under the command of Cabeza de Vaca, who were shipwrecked in 1528.
There was also one Estevanico, a Moroccan slave, in this party. He, two soldiers and the commander, Cabeza de Vaca, were the only survivors of this expedition.
De Vaca led his unit along the Gulf of Mexico with the goal of returning to Mexico City. During this eight-year journey, de Vaca and Estevanico made friends with many native Indians who told them about a surprisingly rich kingdom called the Seven Cities of Chbola.
Cabeza de Vaca wrote down these stories whenever possible, and on his return, reported the rich state to his suzerain, the viceroy of New Spain. He was unusually interested in this information.
In 1539, the Moroccan Estevanico was forced to rediscover the land of Arizona – now as a guide for a small band under the command of Friar Marcos de Niza, whose expedition had a specific goal: to find the legendary Seven Cities. Although de Niza found no riches, he did report seeing one of the Seven Cities. On this expedition, in the lands of western New Mexico, Estefanico was killed by one Zuñi Pueblos.
On February 23, 1540 a detachment of 300 Spanish soldiers and native Indians, under the command of the conquistador Francisco de Coronado, began exploring the western highlands of the Sierra Madre (Sierra Madre), located north of the present-day Arizona state border. In the northeast, he found only one village where he met the same Zuki Pueblos, but he found no treasures.
As a result of this campaign Europeans first saw the Grand Canyon, discovered the Colorado River, and on the way to the Gulf of California – discovered the Cactus Valley, which is now a famous tourist attraction and the National Cactus Reserve (Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument).
In 1581 a company of missionaries and soldiers from Santa Barbara went on an exploratory expedition to what is now New Mexico to find the village of Pueblo, which Zuki Pueblos had once founded.
After exploring vast tracts of new land, the company’s soldiers returned to Spanish Mexico, but the missionaries remained. In 1582 an expedition led by Antonio de Espejo was sent north to find the missionaries and learn of their fate. When Espejo learned that all the missionaries had been killed, his party returned to Santa Barbara, conducting geological investigations on the way back. Espejo’s party was fortunate: they discovered a silver vein, a discovery that rekindled interest in new territories.