(ca. 1490?-1559?) explorer
Cabeza de Vaca was born in Jerez de la Frontera in Spain. Almost nothing is known of his childhood or early adult life. Around age 37, he sailed with Panfilo de Narvaez to Florida, to become one of only four men who survived the expedition. He wandered throughout Florida and Mexico for nine years, from 1527 to 1536, during which time he was taken captive by the Indians. His written account of his experiences is considered to be one of the best accounts of early American exploration. Naufragiosy relation de la jornada que hizo a la Florida con el adelantado Panfilo de Narvaez was first published in Spain in 1542. Modern translations include C. Covey’s 1962 edition, Adventures in the unknown interior of America, and the 2003 National Geographic Adventure printing of The Narrative of Cabeza de Vaca.
La relation is remarkable for its descriptions of the geography and the indigenous peoples of North America. The descriptions are related through the eyes of a Spaniard who survived by acculturation to the native societies. The work is also important because in it Cabeza de Vaca defends the natives against abuse by Spanish conquistadors, which he witnessed on the northern frontiers of New Spain. As a narrative of suffering and privation, Cabeza de Vaca’s account has no equal in the annals of North American exploration.
Cabeza de Vaca later became governor of Paraguay (1540-45). His experience in Paraguay was filled with conflict due to resentment from enemies who objected to his generous attitude toward the Indians. After he was sent back to Spain in chains in 1545, he wrote a bitter account of the experience, Los commentarios, with the help of his secretary Pedro Hernandez in 1554. Los commentarios was published together with an edited version of La relation in Valladolid in 1555.
English Versions of a Work by Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca
Narrative of Cabeza de Vaca. Translated and edited by Rolena Adorno and Patrick C. Pautz. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2003.
The Journey and Ordeal of Cabeza de Vaca: His Account of the Disastrous First European Exploration of the American Southwest. Translated by Cyclone Covey. Mineola, N.Y.: Dover, 2004.
Works about Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca
Menard, Valerie. Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca. Hockessin, Del.: Mitchell Lane Publishers, 2002.
Rodriguez, Alfred. Plus Ultra: Life and Times of Alvar
Nunez Cabeza de Vaca. Lincoln, Neb.: iUniverse, 2001.
