Introduction 
11 
fugitive Christian bishops in the eighth century. One whose interest was 
thus quickened in the northern regions was the new viceroy, Don Antonio 
de Mendoza, and for good reason. This was but the second year of the 
viceroyalty. In a sense, then, it was on trial, and the viceroy realized that 
it would not be a wise policy to allow a new and powerful jurisdiction to 
be established to the north of New Spain. To prevent this, therefore, the 
ambitions of powerful rivals, as Cortés and Ñuño de Guzmán, must be 
forestalled by bringing the entire northern country under the unquestioned 
jurisdiction of the viceroy. 
Of the strength of his rivals Mendoza was not unaware. Cortes, by 
the explorations of Hurtado de Mendoza in 1532, had unquestioned claims 
to the regions between the Sinaloa and Fuerte rivers. Ñuño de Guzmán, 
recently deposed governor of Nueva Galicia, could also make claims on 
the basis of earlier explorations. Cognizant of the validity of these claims, 
and not an adventurer or conquistador himself, as was Cortes, Mendoza 
first tried to induce Cabeza de Vaca or one of his white associates to enter 
his service for northern exploration. Failing in this, Mendoza then 
bought of Andrés Dorantes the negro slave Estevánico. Then he set 
about to make plans for following up the current reports with actual 
exploration. These plans culminated in the official reconnaissance of 
Fray Marcos de Niza, who, in 1539 was sent north from Culiacán with 
Estevánico as his guide. The latter lost his life in the undertaking, but 
Fray Marcos returned to tell of having seen from a distance a large city— 
in reality one of the Zuñi pueblos in the western part_of the present state 
of New Mexico—which he described as larger and finer than Mexico City. 
In the formal report which he made on his return, Fray Marcos was care¬ 
ful to distinguish between what he actually saw and what he heard, but, 
unfortunately, he reported as fact all that he imagined and all that he 
imperfectly understood from the natives. While he made no mention of 
gold or silver, the reports of the region were exaggerated as they spread 
with remarkable rapidity over New Spain, and the Seven Cities, as the 
region came to be known, soon came to imply to the Spaniards a veritable 
El Dorado. As a result great excitement prevailed over New Spain, and 
Viceroy Mendoza at once prepared to follow up this reconnaissance with 
a large expedition to take possession of the country of the Seven Cities. 
Cortés in the meantime had not been idle. Aware of the departure of 
Fray Marcos and alarmed at the prospect of his rival Mendoza securing 
the advantage over him, Cortés, in an effort to forestall his competitor, 
sent three vessels north from Acapulco in July, 1539, or about two months 
prior to the return of Fray Marcos. This expedition was under the com¬ 
mand of Francisco de Ulloa, who, in the course of his expedition, explored 
north from the Rio Fuerte —northern limit of Diego Hurtado de Men¬ 
doza’s explorations in 1532—along the east shore of the Gulf of California 
to its head, and then turning south, followed the west shore of the gulf to 
Cape San Lucas. Rounding that point he turned north and followed the 
west coast of the peninsula of Lower California as far as Magdalena Bay 
and Cabo del Engaño. Ulloa’s discoveries added materially to the northern 
and maritime discoveries that had already been made for Cortés, but an 
all-water route to the Seven Cities had not been discovered. But before 
