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Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca

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Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca (c. 1490 – c. 1557) was an early Spanish explorer of the New World and is remembered as a protoanthropological author. His name is spelled as Alvar Nuñez Cabeça de Vaca. [1] in 16th Century documents.

File:Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca.jpg

Name

Cabeza de Vaca means "head of cow". This surname was granted to his family in the 13th century, when his ancestor aided a Christian army attacking Moors by pointing out a secret pass through the mountains by leaving a cow's head there. In the prologue to his great story relating his shipwreck and wanderings in North America, he refers to his forefather's service to the King, and regrets that his own deeds could not be as great, due to forces beyond his control.

Expedition

Narvaez Expedition and Early Indian Relations

As treasurer, and hence one of the chief officers, of the Narváez expedition, he and three others were the only survivors of the party of 300 men who landed near Tampa Bay, Florida in the spring of 1528. Over the course of eight years, various members of the expedition succumbed to disease, starvation, exposure, and the defensive arrows of various Native American groups as they slowly tried to make their way west, toward Mexico, where they knew there were other Spaniards. Others among them simply gave up the effort and "went native." For a few years, the survivors were enslaved by various Native American tribes of the upper Gulf coast (including the Hans and the Capoques of Galveston Island, which the explorers termed Malhado, or Island of Doom). Only the final four--Cabeza de Vaca, Dorantes, Castillo, and a Black Moroccan named Esteban--ultimately escaped and eventually reached Mexico City.

A plaque commemorating Cabeza de Vaca's discovery of Iguazu Falls.

Traveling mostly in this small group, Cabeza de Vaca explored what is now the U.S. state of Texas, and possibly smaller portions of New Mexico and Arizona. He traveled on foot along the Texas coast and up the Rio Grande and then down the Pacific coast to Sinaloa, Mexico, over a period of roughly eight years, during which time he lived in conditions of abject poverty and, occasionally, in slavery. During his wanderings, passing from tribe to tribe, he developed sympathies for the indigenous population. He eventually became a trader, which allowed him freedom to travel among the tribes. Cabeza de Vaca claims to have learned to heal the sick, and to have gained such notoriety as a healer that he and his companions gathered a large following of natives who accompanied them in their journey across what is now the American Southwest and Northern Mexico. Eventually, after returning to the colonized reaches of New Spain and encountering a group of fellow Spaniards in the vicinity of modern-day Culiacán, he went on to Mexico City and returned to Europe in 1537. Cabeza de Vaca wrote about his experiences in a report for Emperor Charles V. It was later published in 1542, under the title La Relación (The Report), and is considered a classic of colonial literature. Cabeza de Vaca desired to succeed Pánfilo de Narváez (whose supposed ineptitude is commonly credited with causing the deaths of most of the party) as governor of Florida and return there, but Charles V had already appointed Hernando De Soto to lead the next expedition. Cabeza de Vaca declined to travel with the expedition as second in command. His apparent reluctance to provide his countrymen with sufficient information about the uncharted territory may have been due to his jealousy over De Soto's appointment.

Return to Spain

InsББББtead, in 1540 he was appointed governor of Río de la Plata, in what is now Paraguay, Argentina and surroundings. As in North America, he was unusually sensitive and benevolent towards the Native peoples. He was the first European to behold the Iguazú Falls, among the most spectacular in the world. Political intrigue against him caused his arrest in Asunción and return to Spain in chains, in around 1545. He was eventually exonerated and wrote an extensive report on South America, which bound with his earlier La Relación and published under the title Comentarios (Commentary).

Bibliography, in English

  • Cabeza de Vaca, Álvar Núñez: The Narrative of Cabeza De Vaca. Translation of La Relacion by Rolena Adorno and Patrick Charles Pautz. University of Nebraska Press 2003. ISBN 080326416X (Many other editions)
  • Cabeza de Vaca, Álvar Núñez: Cabeza de Vaca's Adventures in the Unknown Interior of America. Translation of La Relacion by Cyclone Covey. University of New Mexio Press 1983. ISBN 082630656X
  • Cabeza de Vaca, Álvar Núñez: The Commentaries of Alvar Nunez Cabeza De Vaca. The Conquest of the River Plate, part II. London: Hakluyt, 1891. (First English edition).
  • Schneider, Paul:Brutal Journey, Cabeza de Vaca and the Epic First Crossing of North America. Henry Holt, 2007. ISBN 0805083200
  • Udall, Stewart L.: Majestic Journey: Coronado's Inland Empire. Museum of New Mexico Press, 1995. ISBN 0890132852

References

  1. ^ http://www.laits.utexas.edu/rtyler/HIS350L/Texas/page2.htm
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