Fray Marcos de Niza and His Journey to Cibola

• Published in: The Americas
• Main Author: Undreiner, George J.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1947
• Subjects: History; Cultural Studies; Northwest Passage; Marcos; Northwest passage
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/978731; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0003161500067584

The persistent desire to find the Northwest Passage and its resultant route to India and the Spice Islands soon led the Spanish conquerors of Mexico and Central America to look to the north as the new field of their activity. Their achievements to the south had already convinced them that the realization of their great hope could not lie in that direction. Additional motives which attracted their attention northward, beyond their already enormous possessions, were their natural quest for imperial expansion, the acquisition of still more resources, and the spiritual salvation of the inhabitants of those unclaimed regions.