Seven Cities of Cíbola
The Seven Cities of Cíbola refers to a legendary group of seven prosperous cities sought by Spanish explorers during the 16th century. The myth originated from tales that emerged after the Moors invaded the Iberian Peninsula, which suggested that seven Portuguese bishops fled westward, establishing these cities. The quest for Cíbola began in earnest following reports from indigenous peoples and explorers, notably during the Coronado expedition in the 1540s. Despite initial expectations of encountering wealthy civilizations, Coronado's forces discovered instead the Zuni people and their modest cities in what is now north-central New Mexico. The Zuni towns, characterized by multi-story adobe structures, were home to a population that engaged in agriculture and trade. Although the expedition was met with initial resistance, the Spaniards spent several months interacting with the Zuni before ultimately abandoning the area. The Seven Cities of Cíbola remain a fascinating example of how cultural myths and exploration intersected during the era of European expansion in the Americas.
Seven Cities of Cíbola
Date: Sixteenth century
Location: Southwest
Tribes affected: Pueblo, Zuni
With their conquest of Mexico and Peru, sixteenth century Spaniards expected to find other rich cultures in the New World, including the Seven Cities of Cíbola. They believed that when the Moors had invaded the Iberian Peninsula in the eighth century, seven Portuguese bishops fled toward the west and established the Seven Cities of Antilia. Early explorers of the Caribbean, including Christopher Columbus, searched for the bishops’ cities. They also named some of the islands after them—the Antilles.
In 1529 a Mexican Indian told the Spanish that his father had traded in the north with seven rich cities. Perhaps, they thought, these might be the land of Antilia. Further confirmation arrived in 1536. Eight years after being shipwrecked on the Gulf of Mexico, Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, a black slave named Esteban, and two companions made contact with Spaniards in northwestern Mexico. From their wanderings through what is now the southwestern United States, they brought reports of rich civilizations.
Viceroy Antonio de Mendoza sent Esteban and Friar Marcos of Nice to investigate the story and appointed Francisco Vásquez de Coronado to organize an exploratory expedition. In March of 1539 Marcos, Esteban, and accompanying Indians began their trek northward. They made their way through eastern Arizona, with the slave traveling ahead. Esteban sent reports to Marcos that the Seven Cities lay ahead, although he referred to them as Cíbola rather than Antilia. Then an Indian messenger arrived to report that the people of Cíbola had killed Esteban and many of those with him. Friar Marcos proceeded until the first city came within view. He then returned to meet Coronado’s expedition.
Encouraged by the friar’s report, Coronado and his men pushed ahead. They met fierce resistance outside the first city, entering it on July 7, 1540. To their dismay, it was neither large nor wealthy. The other cities proved equally disappointing. They had discovered instead what scholars have generally (although not unanimously) identified as the land of the Zunis. Received hospitably for four months after the initial hostilities, Coronado’s forces eventually moved eastward into the pueblos of north-central New Mexico. Afterward, the Spaniards abandoned the land of Cíbola until 1581-1582, when a missionary and trading expedition arrived. Its chronicler, Hernán Gallegos, referred to the people for the first time as the “Suni.”
In 1540 there were six Zuni cities clustered south of modern Gallup, New Mexico. The three largest were Halona, Matsakya, and Kyakina (where Esteban died, according to Zuni tradition). Others were Kwakina, Kechipbowa, and Hawikuh, where Coronado fought his battle. The total population of the villages probably amounted to about three thousand people, living in houses of three or four stories. The Zuni probably descended from intermixing of Anasazis and Mogollon migrants from the south. Their dietary staples were corn, beans, squash, and turkeys. They traded salt (collected from a nearby lake) and turquoise, obtaining buffalo hides from the Pueblos and other items from the Mexicans. The Spanish explorers may have derived Cíbola from cíbolo, their term for the American bison.