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In 1529, a Spanish friar, or member of a religious brotherhood, visited the Zuni pueblo. He was probably the first European to meet the Southwest peoples.
A year later, Spanish explorer Francisco Vásquez de Coronado and his men came to the Southwest. They met the Hopi, Zuni, and Rio Grande people. Coronado was searching for the legendary Seven Cities of Cíbola, said to have gold and other treasure. He did not find gold, so he went back to Mexico. Soon after, however, Spanish settlers and soldiers arrived. They enslaved some Pueblo people. They made others pay tribute in the form of crops and other goods. They also forced the Pueblo people to convert to Christianity. It was truly a clash of cultures. It set the stage for almost 500 years of mistreatment of the people of the Southwest by Europeans and their descendants.
