Coronado's well-equipped army : the Spanish invasion of the American Southwest / John M. Hutchins.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 348-364) and index.

Introduction: a fresh look at Coronado's expedition -- The military revolution of the sixteenth century -- The early Conquistador era -- Penetrating western North America -- Finding a general and recruiting the expedition -- Arquebuses, crossbows, falconets, and other implements of war -- Indian warrior allies -- A colorful accompaniment of women, servants, slaves, and other camp followers -- The march north into Sonora -- The garrison left at San Geronimo -- The invasion of Zuni -- Modern tactics versus antiquity: the battle of Hawikuh -- Melchior Diaz seeks the Pacific supply ships -- Reconaissance west and the march east into Tiguex territory -- Unwelcome occupiers and the Tiguex war -- Military miscalculation: siege warfare -- The Mixton war rearranges Viceroy Mendoza's military priorities -- Building the first bridge across the Pecos -- The expedition enters the cap rocks and canyons of the Llano Estacado -- Coronado's flying reconnaissance in search of Quivira -- Heading for the stable: a mutinous army marches home -- The obligatory Spanish Inquiry into Conquistador conduct.

The historic 1540{u2013}1542 expedition of Captain-General Francisco Vasquez de Coronado is popularly remembered as a luckless party of exploration which wandered the American Southwest and then blundered onto the central Great Plains of Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. The expedition, as historian John M. Hutchins relates in Coronado{u2019}s Well-Equipped Army: The Spanish Invasion of the American Southwest, was a military force of about 1,500 individuals, made up of Spanish soldiers, Indian warrior allies, and camp followers. Despite the hopes for a peaceful conquest of new lands{u2014}including those of a legendary kingdom of Cibola{u2014}the expedition was obliged to fight a series of battles with the natives in present-day Sonora, California, Arizona, and New Mexico. The final phase of the invasion was less warlike, as the members of the expedition searched the Great Plains in vain for a wealthy civilization called Quivira. While much has been written about the march of Coronado and his men, this is the first book to address the endeavor as a military campaign of potential conquest like those conducted by other conquistadors. This helps to explain many of the previously misunderstood activities of the expedition. In addition, new light is cast on the non-Spanish participants, including Mexican Indian allies and African retainers, as well as the important roles of women.--Provided by publisher.