Francisco Vázquez de Coronado

Conquistadors, a name given to Spanish soldier-explorers during the 15th and 16th centuries, came to the Americas to obtain riches and claim territory for Spain. One of those conquistadors, Francisco Vázquez de Coronado led an expedition to the southwest quadrant of today’s nation in search of gold and riches. Failing to find treasure there, Coronado heard of Quivira, a place to be richer beyond imagination. 

With a far smaller group, Coronado traveled north to present-day Kansas. They spent about 25 days in Rice County and surrounding areas searching for gold but only found some iron pyrites and a few pieces of copper owned by early Wichita who lived in grass huts along waterways. 

Coronado decided to return to Mexico because of the approaching cold season, his depleted provisions, and soldier welfare. Before leaving Kansas, Coronado and Father Padilla placed a wooden cross on land claimed for Spain.  Image: Coronado Sets Out to the North, an oil painting by Frederic Remington (1905)