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N
Narváez, Pánfilo de
(1470-1528)
Spanish conquistador
Born near Cuéllar, in Castilla la Vieja, of a
gentile family, Narváez evidently spent his
youth campaigning against the Muslims in
G
RANADA
and then traveled in the late
1490s to the New World. Under the patron-
age of D
IEGO
V
ELÁZQUEZ
DE
C
UÉLLAR
, a
townsman who had probably known him
since childhood, Narváez took part in the
conquest of J
AMAICA
in 1509 and played a
major role in the invasion and occupation
of C
UBA
in 1511. Although described by
some contemporaries as an ideal figure of
the Spanish conqueror—tall, fair haired,
and noble in bearing—others characterized
him as reckless and lacking in judgment.
The priest B
ARTOLOMÉ
DE
L
AS
C
ASAS
, who
knew him well, condemned his harsh treat-
ment of the Indians in Cuba and blamed
him for the deteriorating relations between
the races. Velázquez saw to it that he
received a land grant in Cuba but evidently
did not trust him with any major responsi-
bility until 1520, when he was sent to M
EX
-
ICO
to curb the activities of H
ERNÁN
C
ORTÉS
.
Velázquez apparently intended to attack
and destroy the expedition of Cortés and
make himself master of Mexico. Narváez
was, however, taken by surprise and lost
the first battle between Spanish forces in
the New World. Narváez, who was wounded
and suffered the loss of an eye, was held
prisoner by his rival, while most of his
troops joined Cortés.
After returning to Spain and exerting
influence at court, Narváez procured the
command of a major expedition to invade
and conquer F
LORIDA
. He landed near the
present city of Tampa in 1527 and marched
into the interior. After suffering many losses
in a fierce battle with the Amerindians near
what is now Tallahassee, he retreated to the
coast with only half of his followers left.
These he set to constructing boats to cross
the Gulf of Mexico. This attempt failed,
Battle at the water's edge and capture of Pánfilo de
Narváez
(Library of Congress)
291
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