Introduction to cabeza de vaca and his account

Cabeza de vaca's route

From there, they marched inland. After hostile encounters with the Native Americans, the Spaniards decided to return to the coast. At this point, only 200 men remained (Suñe 118). Clinging to hope, the men built 5 barges between August 4 and September 20 (Cabeza de Vaca 44). The men sailed west along the Gulf Coast in search of Páncuo, Mexico; they landed on Galveston Island (or west of it) on November 5 and 6, 1528 (Hall). It was here that they heard the natives speak of other Spaniards, members of another disastrous expedition. These men were: Alonzo del Castillo Maldonado, Andrés Dorantes de Carranza, and Estevanico (Dorantes’ African slave, also known as “Estevan”) (Krieger 1).

The remaining men lived among the natives for several years. In spring 1529, Castillo Maldonado, Dorantes de Carranza, Estevanico, and about 12 other men left the sick Cabeza de Vaca (he probably had malaria) in search of Pánuco again (Cabeza de Vaca 101-3). The rest of the spring and summer, Cabeza de Vaca migrated with the Karankawa Indians, helping gather food, performing menial tasks, and even as a merchant, trading between tribes (104-6). Cabeza de Vaca wasn’t the only Spaniard left behind– both Alaniz and Lope de Oviedo had stayed behind (although the latter stayed by choice). Alaniz died shortly after the men left, and it took Cabeza de Vaca almost 3 years to convince Oviedo to escape with him (109). In the meantime, Cabeza de Vaca escaped from the tribe and lived alone in the wilderness (107).

Finally, in the summer of 1532, Oviedo agreed to go with Cabeza de Vaca down the coast. Surprisingly enough, on the southern tip of Matagorda Bay (between Galveston and Corpus Christi, Texas), the pair discovered that Dorantes de Carranza, Castillo Maldonado, and Estevanico were being held prisoners by the Quevenes. Rather than risk imprisonment alongside his countrymen, Oviedo decided to turn back (111). The remaining men escaped at last in spring 1535 and slowly made their way westward, crossing the continent

In December 1535, the men began to hear stories and see traces of Christians (Cabeza de Vaca 231-239). In late January, Cabeza de Vaca stumbled upon some Spaniards on a slaving expedition, who were “greatly startled” to see him “in such a strange attire, and in company with Indians” (239). Shortly afterward, Cabeza de Vaca and his men found themselves at odds with their countrymen: “Thereupon we had many and bitter quarrels with the Christians, for they wanted to make slaves of our Indians…” (244). After preventing the enslavement of their Native American companions, the four men finally arrived in Mexico City in July 1536.

Publication

Cabeza de Vaca’s account of the events, Relación de los Naufragios (also known as Naufragios, La Relación, La Relación General, The Account, The Journey, The Narrative ) was originally written as an official report to the King Carlos I of Spain. King Carlos I of Spain was also known as Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire and Carlos I of Spain and V of Germany. It was later publicly published in Zamora in 1542 and a second edition was published in Valladolid in 1555. This account is considered to be the first historical narration about the United States and chronicles some of the first Native American-European interaction, the Europeans’ struggle to survive (as preconceived notions of civilization and barbarianism collide), the act of exploration and discovery, and the challenges faced by the individual himself.

La relación

Bibliography

Cabeza de Vaca, Álvar Núñez. The Journey of Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca. Translated and edited by Fanny Bandelier. New York: A. S. Barnes&Company, 1905. Early Americas Digital Archive.

Cartwright, Gary. “The Adventures of Cabeza de Vaca.” Galveston: A History of the Island. Texas Christian University Press, 1998. Web. Accessed 15 June 2010. (External Link)

Favata, Martin A. and Fernández, José B. “Introduction.” The account: Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca's Relación. Arte Público Press, 1993.

Hall, Michael. “A Brief History of Cabeza de Vaca and La relación. ” Web. Accessed 15 June 2010. (External Link)

Krieger, Alex. D. We Came Naked and Barefoot: The Journey of Cabeza de Vaca Across North America. Ed. Margery H. Krieger. Austin: University of Austin Press, 2002.

Suñe, Beatriz. “Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca.” Handbook of Hispanic Cultures in the United States: History. Ed. Alfredo Jiménez. Arte Público Press, 1994, pp.117-121.