Andrés Dorantes de Carranza (ca. 1500 – 1550s), was an early Spanish explorer in the Americas. He was one of the four last survivors of
the Narváez expedition, along with
Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca,
Alonso del Castillo Maldonado, and
Estevanico, Dorantes' slave of African descent.
Biography
Dorantes was born in
Béjar del Castañar,
[Dorantes, Baltasar.]
PRÓLOGO. - cdigital
(en Spanish: "Foreword"), from the book ''Sumaria relación de las cosas de la Nueva España con noticia individual de los descendientes legítimos de los conquistadores y primeros pobladores españoles por Baltasar Dorantes de Carranza'' (in Spanish: '' Summary relationship of the things of the New Spain with individual news of the legitimate descendants of the conquerors and first Spanish settlers by Baltazar Dorantes de Carranza''), paleographed from the original by Mr. D. José María de Ágreda y Sánchez. Foreword by Luis González Obregón. Printing of Museo Nacional de México, 1902. Pages 3-4. Salamanca
Salamanca () is a Municipality of Spain, municipality and city in Spain, capital of the Province of Salamanca, province of the same name, located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is located in the Campo Charro comarca, in the ...
(or possibly in
Gibraleón
Gibraleón is a town and municipality located in the province of Huelva, Spain. According to the 2005 census
A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population info ...
[Legends of America: Spanish Explorers](_blank)
/ref>), Spain, ca. 1500. His father was Pablo Dorantes and he was raised in a poor hidalgo family of minor Spanish nobility. His family was of an ancient lineage and had mayorazgos of quality. Carranza traveled to the Americas to enrich himself under Captain Pánfilo de Narváez. When the expedition was organized, one boat was placed under the joint command of Dorantes and Alonso del Castillo Maldonado.
Thus, Dorantes and Estevanico traveled to Florida
Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
in 1527. In April 1528, the expeditionary group escaped a hurricane near Cuba
Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
and arrived to Florida, landing in a zone located near Tampa Bay. They claimed the newly discovered area for the Castilian Crown. However, the group was affected by several more hurricanes and by attacks of the Native Americans, which caused the death of many expedition members. In addition, after leaving Florida, with fewer men on board (for the reasons before mentioned), three of the five vessels of the expedition sank during the travel to the modern-day Mexico, with about 80 men surviving. The vessels reached the coast of Galveston Island, Texas. In this place, however, their troubles continued: the harsh winter and lack of food caused the death of most of the expedition's members. The group resumed its march with only 15 men, including Dorantes, Castillo, Estevanico, and Cabeza de Vaca.[Martínez Laínez, Fernando and Canales Torres, Carlos. Banderas lejanas: La exploración, conquista y defensa por parte de España del Territorio de los actuales Estados Unidos (Far Flags: The exploration, conquest and defense by Spain of the Territory of the present United States). Page 31-33. Fourth edition: September 2009.] In the spring, the group crossed the Colorado River
The Colorado River () is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The river, the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), 5th longest in the United St ...
's coast and by the modern New Mexico
New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...
, Texas and Mexico.
In March 1536, after wandering throughout Texas (much of the time spent enslaved by various Native American tribes) the survivors crossed the modern Mexican states of Chihuahua and Sinaloa
Sinaloa (), officially the (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 18 municipalities, and its capital city is Culiacán Rosales.
It is located in northwest Mexic ...
, reaching the city of Culiacán, where they connected with other Spanish people.
When New Galicia's governor Nuño de Guzmán
Nuño Beltrán de Guzmán (1558) was a Spanish conquistador and colonial administrator in New Spain. He was the governor of the province of Pánuco (province), Pánuco from 1525 to 1533 and of Nueva Galicia from 1529 to 1534, and president of the ...
heard news about the Spanish castaways who had reached land under their jurisdiction, he gave them several goods (horses and clothing) and sent them to the capital of New Spain, Mexico City, to surrender accounts to the Viceroy of New Spain, Antonio de Mendoza.
Mendoza offered Dorantes a position leading a new expedition, but Dorantes refused and instead made plans to return to Spain. Dorantes sold Estevanico to the Viceroy. However, when he was preparing to leave, his ship was pronounced unfit to sail, so he came back to Veracruz
Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...
. After this, Dorantes never left New Spain again. He died in the 1550s.
Personal life
Dorantes first married María de la Torre. After she died, Carranza married Paula Dorantes. Both of his wives were widows. He had more than fourteen children. One of his children was Baltazar Dorantes de Carranza, born in Mexico in the mid-sixteenth century, who served as treasurer of Veracruz and procurator of New Spain in Castile.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carranza, Andres Dorantes de
Explorers of the colonial Southwest of the United States
Spanish explorers of North America
Spanish slave owners
People from Salamanca
Year of birth uncertain
1550s deaths