Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca

A Perspective View of the Native People in the New World Seen by the Eyes of Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca and John Smith When the first explorers arrived in America from Europe, they encountered many different indigenous peoples of the land. Every pioneer had their own experiences with the native people, varying from educational and boring to threatening and appalling. Many of the meetings became more and more intense as interactions between the explorers and natives became recurrent. These unfriendly encounters became a burden on the relationships of the settlers and often led to some type of hostility. The intense confrontations usually led to the imprisonment of some explorers by the native tribes. Many explorers wrote about their experiences…

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…

Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca “If one lives where all suffer and starve, one acts on one’s own impulse to help. But where plenty abounds, we surrender our generosity, believing that our country replaces us each and several. That is not so, and indeed an illusion.” This quote is basically saying, if a person is living where everyone is suffering and starving, they act on their instinct to help. But where plenty of people exist, you give your generosity thinking our country replaces us to help. But…

how the Christians described them as “Savages”. In the works of Christopher Columbus, Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, and Bartolomé de las Casas, the Natives characterized as positive views in such ways that they were as civilized as the Spaniards. However, negative contexts indicated that Indians created war and show no signs of respect. No matter the view, there will always be one fact for certain, that the Christians wanted the land for themselves; coming from a monarch in Spain in which evoked…

How did Cabeza de Vaca survive? The age of exploration has sprung, we all know of the glory. Discovering a new world, exploring. But have you ever heard of what happens when that all falls apart? Cabeza de Vaca was a Spanish explorer or conquistador who left Spain to colonize the New World in 1527. He got shipwrecked near what is now Tampa Bay, FL and got lost. They decided to make rafts and try to sail to Mexico City, but got pushed ashore in a hurricane near modern day Galveston, TX. He was…

Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca’s narrative of his experiences with the Native Americans creates a unique contrast to many other narratives from this time period. The two greatest distinctions of Cabeza de Vaca were his understanding of cultural relativism and his approach towards bringing the natives to Christianity. Many of the first encounters with Native Americans created a great divide between the two groups, mostly due to outward appearance. The lavish clothing worn by Europeans created a…

in the written words. As the years progressed so did the words. The writings from the Age of Discovery and the Age of Reason convey powerful feelings in the foundation of a new nation. While the literature produced by the authors during these time periods changes greatly in tone, the underlying sentiment of religious belief and a trust in God remains. In the introduction, the editor of this textbook wrote that “the period of European exploration in the Americas produced a surprisingly large and…

Historical Narrative Marcos De Velion was in Mexico because he was looking for slaves and he wanted to kill them. He was gathering the slaves because he was going to give them to the Spanish king. De Vaca did not help his father the slaves he just was there for there for the ride back to his home. When I found De Vaca he was very sick looking and weak. His clothes were all ripped and he was shaking. I helped De Vaca out by giving him food and warm clothes. De Vaca didn’t say much of anything…

Cabeza de Vaca, lonely, tired, and hungry crossed the cold, clear, river as the raging water slammed against his weak body. With every little step he took, the currents pulled him further and further away from his destination. His legs were weak and fragile from wading in the frigid water, where he could barely touch the bottom. In his weakened state, he could drown any moment from now. In the year of 1527, five ships set sail in search of new lands to establish new settlements. As the journey…

How Did Cabeza de Vaca Survive? Cabeza de Vaca is trekking through the humid green swamplands, and mosquito's are swooping into his nostrils for every breath he takes; he has to keep on going, or he will die. This is one of many challenges Cabeza de Vaca had to face in order to get back to Spanish colonization while he was exploring the land of Texas, and trying to find treasure and colonize. He had been through what many call the impossible, and hadn’t given up. Cabeza de Vaca survived by…