Marcos de Niza

The stone may have been signed by Marcos de Niza in 1539. However, recent research indicates a fake.

Marcos de Niza (* around 1495, † 1558), a Franciscan priest , was the first to bring the news of the " Seven Cities of Cibola " to Mexico.

Life

Marcos de Niza was probably born (his name suggests) in Nice , a city that at that time belonged to the Duchy of Savoy and thus to the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation . He joined the Aquitaine Province of the Franciscans and was ordained a priest. In 1530 his order sent him to Spain and from there to Peru the following year. He experienced the Spanish conquest of Peru and reported on the atrocities of the conquistadors in Peru. In 1536 his order sent him to the viceroyalty of New Spain . According to the Franciscan tradition, he walked barefoot from Panama to Mexico.

The expedition to northern Mexico

Antonio de Mendoza , the Viceroy of New Spain, won Marcos de Niza for an expedition to look for wealthy cities north of the area ruled by the Spaniards. He was accompanied by Estevanico the Moors and a second Franciscan priest, Fray Honorato (Onorato). Some Indians served them as runners, porters and interpreters. These Indians had already been Cabeza de Vaca's companions on the march from Texas to New Spain.

Marcos de Niza began his journey in Culiacán on March 7, 1539. Soon afterwards, Father Honorato fell ill. He had to be left behind. Marcos de Niza and Estevanico stayed near the coast at the beginning of their journey. Later they embarked on a local trade route. Estevanico had reported to Marcos de Niza about the numerous trade trips that the natives of this area often took to the north.

The path the group took is only known in rough outline. Marcos de Niza sent the Moors a few days ahead to explore the path. Estevanico had strict orders to send messages back and wait for the priest. This dark-skinned man must have been an extremely charismatic person. Cabeza de Vaca had reported that he had appeared as a shaman on their journey and had often preceded the Spaniards when they entered the villages of the Indians. Other reports suggest that he had numerous flirtations with local women.

Cibola

Estevanico was about three days ahead of Marcos de Niza. Through Indian messengers he sent a report to the Father who had reached Vacapa (Vacapan), the first large settlement, on March 21st. In it, Estevanico described a wonderful northern trading center. He named the city Cibola . He hadn't seen her yet, because roughly he was still another 30 days away from this city. Estevanico was so excited by the news that he didn't want to wait for Marcos de Niza.

On April 7th, the priest left the village of Vacapa and soon came across the area where he knew the indigenous people of Cibola. He questioned them carefully and received more colorful reports about the city to the north. In the area through which Marcos de Niza traveled, the locals had only small houses that were roofed with corn straw and bricks made of unfired clay. But there should be multi-story, permanent buildings in Cibola. So it was no wonder that the Indians raved about Cibola in the highest tones.

Marcos de Niza continued north and followed Estevanico's trail. He came through a well-irrigated landscape where people were growing corn and tried to catch up with Estevanico, but the moor always stayed in front of him for several days. There was new information about Cibola in every place. But Marcos de Niza never mentioned gold discoveries in his reports. He only reported that many turquoises ( gemstones ) were exchanged in this area , and that these turquoises were embedded in some door frames. This apparently led the conquistadors to believe that doors and walls were covered with jewels in Cibola. Marcos de Niza was later accused of lying. Literally, however, his report was correct. As ethnologists confirmed in the 19th century, the Zunis sometimes worked a little lucky turquoise into the entrance of their house.

In passing, Marcos de Niza's report tells us that everywhere on his journey the Indians traded on the Cibola Way. This proves that Marcos de Niza was on a well-known route of the locals.

For the last 15 days the priest and his Indian companions wandered through uninhabited areas. They were probably near Cibola at the end of May 1539. A few days before they reached the city, Marcos de Niza met some Indian refugees. They were Estevanico's companions. They told of his death. Apparently he had the instructions of the caciques ignored by Cibola. He shouldn't approach the city because the city's residents didn't trust this strange, dark-skinned shaman . Despite the warning, Estevanico had met people with a laugh, trusting his many years of experience. A confrontation ensued in which some of the Cabeza Indians were killed or injured. Estevanico was also killed.

When Marcos de Niza heard this, he only went as far as a plateau from which he could see the city from a distance. Then he withdrew as quickly as possible. "I was more scared in my stomach than to eat," he later wrote ironically.

Reports and rumors

Only a few details of his return journey are known. Apparently he appeared in Mexico City in mid or late August 1539. On August 23, 1539, in Mexico City , Bishop Juan de Zumárraga wrote a letter detailing the discoveries made by Marcos de Niza. In the meantime, he wrote his relación , his report. On August 26, 1539, the correctness of a copy of his report was certified and dated by the superiors of his Franciscan order. On September 2, 1539, Marcos de Niza reported to the viceroy about his discoveries in front of several witnesses. Some listeners questioned his statements. His report sparked an avalanche of rumors. In Marcos de Niza's report it is said that he has found a populous country in the north. He describes Cibola as the northern trading center in which buffalo skins, turquoise and cotton clothing are traded. Cibola extends over fertile valleys north of the Sonora desert , around the 35th parallel. His report does not say that he found gold. Nonetheless, wishful thinking and greed turned the “Seven Cities of Cibola” into the “Seven Golden Cities of Cibola” by means of the silent mail .

Follow the expedition

In 1540, Marcos de Niza led Francisco Vásquez de Coronado's army to Cibola. There he was branded a scapegoat when it turned out that there was no gold to be found in Cibola. He was held responsible for the fact that Coronado and his people started a fruitless search due to "false" information.

His Franciscan order, however, valued Marcos de Niza as a defender of the rights of the Indians and entrusted him with important tasks. For a time he was Vice- Provincial and Provincial of the Franciscans in New Spain.

Fonts

• Relation de Frère Marcos de Niza . Appendix to Pedro de Castañeda de Nagera: Relation du voyage de Cibola entrepris en 1540. Où l'on traite de toutes les peuplades qui habitent cette contrée, de leurs moeurs et coutumes . Arthus-Bertrand, Paris 1838. pp. 256–281 (French translation of the Relación from 1539). The Relación has been preserved in three copies: two in the Archivo General de Indias in Seville, one in the House, Court and State Archives in Vienna, entitled Relación de las Indias de fray Marcos Denica .

literature

• Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca : The shipwrecks of the Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca . Report on the misfortune of the Narváez expedition to the south coast of North America 1527–1536 , Stuttgart 1925.
• Cleve Hallenbeck: The journey of Fray Marcos de Niza . University Press in Dallas, Dallas 1949 (and other editions)
• Hans-Otto Meissner : I didn't find any gold in Arizona. The adventures of Francisco Vasquez de Coronado (= The adventures of world discovery, vol. 5). Cotta, Stuttgart 1967. Therein pp. 42-77 about Marcos de Niza and his expedition.
• Rodolfo Pérez Pimentel: Marco de Niza. Viajero y escritor . In: Diccionario biográfico del Ecuador . Universidad de Guayaquil, Guayaquil 1987ff, vol. 8.

Footnotes

1. ^ Rodolfo Pérez Pimentel: Marco de Niza. Viajero y escritor . In: Diccionario biográfico del Ecuador . Vol. 8.
2. ↑ Hans-Otto Meissner: I didn't find any gold in Arizona , p. 43.
3. ↑ Hans-Otto Meissner: I didn't find any gold in Arizona , p. 42.
4. ↑ Hans-Otto Meissner: I didn't find any gold in Arizona , p. 51.
5. ^ Richard Flint, Shirley Cushing Flint (ed.): Documents of the Coronado expedition, 1539-1542. "They were not familiar with His Majesty, nor did they wish to be his subjects" . Southern Methodist University Press, Dallas 2005. ISBN 0-87074-496-8 . P. 67.
6. ↑ Hans-Otto Meissner: I didn't find any gold in Arizona , p. 60.
7. ↑ Hans-Otto Meissner: I didn't find any gold in Arizona , p. 59.
8. ↑ Hans-Otto Meissner: I didn't find any gold in Arizona , p. 66.
9. ↑ Hans-Otto Meissner: I didn't find any gold in Arizona , p. 67.
10. ↑ Hans-Otto Meissner: I didn't find any gold in Arizona , p. 69.
11. ^ Relation de Brother Marcos de Niza . Appendix to Pedro de Castañeda de Nagera: Relation du voyage de Cibola entrepris en 1540. Où l'on traite de toutes les peuplades qui habitent cette contrée, de leurs moeurs et coutumes . Arthus-Bertrand, Paris 1838. pp. 256–281 (in French translation).
12. ^ Protocol supplement to Relation de Frère Marcos de Niza . In: Pedro de Castañeda de Nagera: Relation du voyage de Cibola entrepris en 1540. Où l'on traite de toutes les peuplades qui habitent cette contrée, de leurs moeurs et coutumes . Arthus-Bertrand, Paris 1838. pp. 281-283.
13. ↑ Hans-Otto Meissner: I didn't find any gold in Arizona , p. 77.
14. ↑ Hans-Otto Meissner: I didn't find any gold in Arizona , p. 42 and p. 129.

Web links

• psi.edu The Mysterious Journey of Friar Marcos de Niza
• Exploraciones al sur de Estados Unidos