Melchior Díaz
Melchior Díaz (* 1500 ?; † 1541 ) was a captain in the army of Francisco Vásquez de Coronado . The exact year of his birth is not known. He was said to be a capable and popular officer.
expedition
Díaz accompanied Coronado on his journey of discovery to Cibola . When the expedition had reached Corazones , Coronado sent his captain Melchior Díaz with a small force to the northwest to find Hernando de Alarcón . He had sailed north to the Gulf of California with his ships on the west coast of New Spain ( Mexico ). Díaz was supposed to support the expedition with weapons and supplies and bring the captured gold safely to the south. Alarcón and his men were the first Europeans to sail the Colorado River by boat. They came as far as Yuma in what is now Arizona . But the meeting between Melchior Díaz and Hernando de Alarcón did not take place. Díaz had crossed endless deserts in a forced march and actually found the Colorado. But he only found a message that Alarcón had left behind. The naval support for the expedition had failed. Alarcón had to turn back long before Melchior Díaz found his news, and took back the much-needed supplies.
death
Díaz was injured in the groin in a bizarre riding accident near this place. He had thrown his lance at a dog that was hunting its sheep. His men tried to bring him back on a stretcher, but he died on the way and was buried on a small hill, probably somewhere between Sonoita and Caborca in the Sonoran Desert . The grave was never found.
See also
- Francisco Vásquez de Coronado
- Hernando de Alarcon
- García López de Cárdenas
- Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca
literature
- AN Cabeza de Vaca The shipwrecks of Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca Report on the disaster of the Narváez expedition to the south coast of North America 1527-1536, Stuttgart 1925
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Díaz, Melchior |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Spanish explorer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | around 1500 |
| DATE OF DEATH | 1541 |