Nueva Vizcaya (New Biscay) was the first province of northern New Spain to be explored and settled by the Spanish. Around 1528, a group of Spaniard explorers, led by Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, first entered the actual territory of what is now Chihuahua. The conquest of the territory lasted nearly <answer>one century</answer>, and encountered fierce resistance from the Conchos tribe, but the desire of the Spanish Crown to transform the region into a bustling mining center led to a strong strategy to control the area.
The conquest of the territory lasted nearly how long?
one century