Francisco Vázquez de Coronado (Spanish pronunciation: [fɾanˈθisko ˈβaθkeθ ðe koɾoˈnaðo]; 1510 – 22 September 1554) was a Spanish conquistador and explorer who led a large expedition from what is now Mexico to present-day Kansas through what is now parts of the southwestern United States between 1540 and 1542. Francisco Vazquez de Coronado, Spaniard whose expeditions in the North American Southwest resulted in the discovery of many physical landmarks but failed to find the legendary Seven Cities of Cibola that he sought. The 16th-century Spanish explorer Francisco Vázquez de Coronado (c. 1510-1554) was serving as governor of an important province in New Spain (Mexico) when he heard reports of the so-called... Francisco Coronado is most famous for leading a Spanish expedition through the American Southwest between 1540 and 1542 in search of the Seven Cities of Gold. His journey is remembered as the first major European exploration of the region, even though he never found any treasure. While he failed in his mission to discover the cities of gold, Vázquez de Coronado became one of the first European explorers to visit the American West. In 1535, Vázquez de Coronado - later to be referred to in English as Coronado - left Spain for Mesoamerica. He traveled with the entourage for Antonio de Mendoza, the new Viceroy, or governor, of New Spain. As the leader of the 1540-1542 expedition to the Seven Cities of Cíbola and Quivira, Coronado explored what became Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Kansas and opened what is now the southwestern United States to Spanish colonization and settlement. Francisco Coronado explored the southwest of the American continent, claimed most of the southwest for Spain and charted the course of many rivers and native roads in the area. Learn about Francisco Vásquez de Coronado and his 1540 expedition across the U.S. Southwest and Plains. Honest history, timeline, map ideas, and family activities for curious kids and parents. Francisco Vasquez de Coronado, the Spanish governor of Nueva Galicia, a province in northern Mexico, had heard tales of the large and wealthy Seven Cities of Cibola to the north.