Estevanico was a black slave from Morocco who became one of the first explorers of the southwestern United States. His tales of the fabled Seven Cities of Cíbola led to the famous expedition of
Francisco Vásquez de Coronado in 1540. Estevanico was a servant of the Spanish explorer Andrés
Dorantes de Carranza on an expedition that landed at Tampa Bay, Florida, in
1528. Some of the group, including Estevanico and the expedition’s treasurer,
Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, eventually reached what is now Texas. American
Indians there told Estevanico about seven cities to the north that were built of
gold. Years later, in 1539, Estevanico guided Marcos de Niza’s expedition to the
Southwest. He explored ahead into what are now Arizona and New Mexico. He
reached Cíbola, where the inhabitants of Hawikuh, a Zuni Indian pueblo, killed
him. Later, Coronado found that Cíbola consisted of adobe pueblos that shone
like gold from afar.