Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca was born in the town of Jerez de la Frontera, and his ancestral lineage was of noble stock. Cabeza de Vaca served the king of Spain as a soldier, fighting in several campaigns. After earning his position as a respected soldier, “Cabeza de Vaca was appointed royal treasurer on an expedition to North America commanded by Pantilo de Narvaez” (“Alvar”). This expedition would become an “odyssey,” which is where Cabeza de Vaca acquired his reputation among the natives as a “medicine man,” and the material for his writings. After cooperating and cohabitating amongst the natives, Cabeza de Vaca later found “fellow” Christians in Mexico. Finally, after his adventures, Cabeza de Vaca was sent back to Spain.
Alvar Nunez Cabeza …show more content…
Cabeza de Vaca’s living experience with the American Indians gave Cabeza de Vaca new insight on the culture and customs the natives demonstrated. The hospitality of the natives showed Cabeza de Vaca that they were willing to let Cabeza de Vaca (and his fellow countrymen following Cabeza) live amongst the tribes, but that they must sustain and manipulate nature, just as the natives did. During the time spent with the American Indians, Cabeza de Vaca suffered, and so did the American Indians. Yes, “[t]he institutional disease of slavery further decimated the Native peoples” (“Beginnings” 5); the population of the American Indians fell into a downfall spiral, crashing against rocks of “brutal mistreatment, despair, or disease (“Beginnings” 6). However, natures’ inclemency shaped life’s rough existence for the natives, before the encroachment of European explorers. And, like the American Indians, Cabeza de Vaca led a similar existence, while living with the natives. For example, nature proved to be an agent of toil, when Cabeza de Vaca says, “[B]lood flowed from us in many places where thorns and shrubs tore our flesh” (Nunez 33). At the same time, Cabeza de Vaca traded with the natives for sustenance, “which were work of [Cabeza de Vaca’s] own hands” (Nunez 33). The suffering and relationship between Cabeza de Vaca and the natives must have grown into a bond, a friendship – each providing for themselves and living peacefully with each
Alvar Nunez Cabeza …show more content…
Cabeza de Vaca’s living experience with the American Indians gave Cabeza de Vaca new insight on the culture and customs the natives demonstrated. The hospitality of the natives showed Cabeza de Vaca that they were willing to let Cabeza de Vaca (and his fellow countrymen following Cabeza) live amongst the tribes, but that they must sustain and manipulate nature, just as the natives did. During the time spent with the American Indians, Cabeza de Vaca suffered, and so did the American Indians. Yes, “[t]he institutional disease of slavery further decimated the Native peoples” (“Beginnings” 5); the population of the American Indians fell into a downfall spiral, crashing against rocks of “brutal mistreatment, despair, or disease (“Beginnings” 6). However, natures’ inclemency shaped life’s rough existence for the natives, before the encroachment of European explorers. And, like the American Indians, Cabeza de Vaca led a similar existence, while living with the natives. For example, nature proved to be an agent of toil, when Cabeza de Vaca says, “[B]lood flowed from us in many places where thorns and shrubs tore our flesh” (Nunez 33). At the same time, Cabeza de Vaca traded with the natives for sustenance, “which were work of [Cabeza de Vaca’s] own hands” (Nunez 33). The suffering and relationship between Cabeza de Vaca and the natives must have grown into a bond, a friendship – each providing for themselves and living peacefully with each