Marcos de Niza
Marcos remains a controversial historical figure and historians have argued without resolution over the veracity of his report and the itinerary of his expedition.
[3][7] In 1537, Marcos wrote to Archbishop Juan de Zumárraga in Mexico City to complain about the atrocities he had witnessed in Peru.
Zumárraga requested his presence in Mexico City and suggested that Marcos write a report to the king in an effort to prevent further cruelties.
In 1536 Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca and his three companions reached Mexico City as the only survivors of the Narváez expedition.
[8] Inspired by these reports, Viceroy Antonio de Mendoza decided to send a small reconnaissance expedition northward in hopes of confirming the rumours.
When the three surviving Spaniards from the Narváez expedition declined to lead the effort, Mendoza appointed Marcos de Niza as the leader and ordered Estevanico, the African slave who was the fourth companion of the survivors, to serve as a guide.
[9] Marco had been recommended by his superior, Fray Antonio de Ciudad Rodrigo, who noted that he was a pious priest, familiar with "cosmography and navigation" and capable of leading a journey of discovery.
In addition to Estevanico, a lay Franciscan friar, Onorato was assigned to the expedition, as well as a half-dozen Indians whom Marco had been teaching the rudiments of Spanish and Christianity.
[10] The viceroy provided Marcos with written instructions, telling him to take careful note of everything he encounters, including Indian tribes, flora and fauna, fertility of the soil and the availability of water.
[11] The expedition left Mexico City in the autumn of 1538, accompanied by Francisco Vázquez de Coronado, the newly appointed governor of the frontier province Nueva Galicia at the northern edge of New Spain.
[3][12] A week or so after the expedition began they encountered one of their first native villages, Petatlan, where Brother Onorato fell ill and was left behind to recover.
In hopes of regaining their support, Marcos distributed all the gifts and trade goods he had been carrying and asked only that he be allowed to proceed to Cibola.
Then, following Mendoza's instructions, he raised a large pile of stones, placed a cross upon it and took possession of the discovered lands in the name of the Spanish Crown.
[15] Marcos de Niza's expedition was viewed as a great success that seemed to confirm the extravagant rumours of a wealthy civilization beyond the northern frontier.
In October 1539, Viceroy Mendoza ordered Francisco Vázquez de Coronado to organize and lead an expedition to "reconnoitre and pacify lands and new provincias".
Although he was now a high-ranking church official, Marcos served the expedition as a guide and led a small contingent of four Franciscans along with an entourage of assistants, servants, and slaves.
[15] After being scapegoated, Marcos de Niza went back to Mexico City, where he held a very high position within the Franciscan leadership.
[15][19][3] In the 1920s Matthew E. Bellew announced the discovery of a petroglyph on his land near Phoenix that appeared to have been left by Marcos de Niza.
