While everyone likes to point out that Coronado was following established trade routes, it is not mentioned often enough who chose the route. The route Coronado followed was the same as that traversed by Fray Marcos de Niza the year before, and to a large extent, the same as that followed by Cabeza de Vaca. So by studying the accounts of these two journeys we can get a better understanding of Coronado’s path.
Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca
I don’t even pretend to be a Cabeza de Vaca scholar, nor would I want to be, his journey is the only one I know of that is documented worse than Coronado’s. It seems like there are as many proposed routes for Cabeza de Vaca as there are scholars who have studied his journal. (more…)
