The Narváez expedition was a Spanish expedition started in 1527 that was intended to explore

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 ...

and establish colonial settlements. The expedition was initially led by Pánfilo de Narváez, who died in 1528. Many more people died as the expedition traveled west along the unexplored

Gulf Coast The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South or the South Coast, is the coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The coastal states that have a shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico are Tex ...

of the present-day United States and into the American southwest. Only four of the expedition's original members survived, reaching Mexico City in 1536. These survivors were the first known non-Native Americans to see the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

, and to cross the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

and

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. Narváez's crew initially numbered about 600, including men from Spain, Portugal, Greece, and Italy. The expedition met with disaster almost immediately. Making stops at

Hispaniola Hispaniola (, also ) is an island between Geography of Cuba, Cuba and Geography of Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and the second-largest by List of C ...

and Cuba on the way to La Florida, the fleet was devastated by a hurricane, among other storms, and lost two ships. They left Cuba in February 1528. Their intended destination was the Rio de las Palmas (near present-day

Tampico Tampico is a city and port in the southeastern part of the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. It is located on the north bank of the Pánuco River, about inland from the Gulf of Mexico, and directly north of the state of Veracruz. Tampico is the fif ...

, Mexico), with the purpose of founding two settlements. Storms, opposing currents, and strong winds forced them north to present-day Florida. After landing near Boca Ciega Bay, about 15 miles north of the entrance to Tampa Bay, Narváez and his pilots determined that their landing place was not suitable for settlement. Narváez ordered that the expedition be split, with 300 men sent overland northward along the coast and 100 men and ten women aboard the ships were also sent northward along the coast, as Narváez intended to reunify the land and seaborne expeditions at a supposed large harbor to the north of them that would be "impossible to miss". The land expedition and the ships never met, as no large harbor existed north of their landing location. As it marched northward, the land expedition encountered numerous attacks by indigenous forces and suffered from disease and starvation. By September 1528, following an attempt by the survivors to sail on makeshift rafts from Florida to Mexico, only 80 men survived a storm and were swept onto

Galveston Island Galveston Island ( ) is a barrier island on the Texas Gulf Coast in the United States, about southeast of Houston, Texas, Houston. The entire island, with the exception of Jamaica Beach, Texas, Jamaica Beach, is within the city limits of the City ...

off the coast of Texas. The stranded survivors were enslaved by indigenous nations, and more men continued to die from harsh conditions. Only four of the original party—

Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca (; 1488/90/92"Cabeza de Vaca, Alvar Núñez (1492?-1559?)." American Eras. Vol. 1: Early American Civilizations and Exploration to 1600. Detroit: Gale, 1997. 50-51. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 10 December ...

Alonso del Castillo Maldonado Alonso del Castillo Maldonado (died after 1547) was an early Spanish explorer in the Americas. He was one of the last four survivors of the original members of the 1527 Narváez expedition, along with Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, Andrés Dorant ...

Andrés Dorantes de Carranza 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 ...

, and Dorantes' enslaved Moor

Estevanico Estevanico (–1539), also known as Mustafa Azemmouri and Esteban de Dorantes and Estevanico the Moor, was the first person of African descent to explore North America. He was one of the last four survivors of the Narváez expedition, along with ...

—made it to Mexico (the 5th known survivor was Juan Ortiz, who lived with Native Americans north of Tampa until de Soto arrived in 1538), during which they wandered through what is now the

southwestern United States The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural list of regions of the United States, region of the United States that includes Arizona and New Mexico, along with adjacen ...

and northern Mexico. They eventually encountered Spanish slave-catchers in

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 ...

in 1536, and with them, the four men finally reached Mexico City. Upon returning to Spain, Cabeza de Vaca wrote of the expedition in his ''La relación'' ''y comentarios'' ("The Account and Commentaries"), published in 1542 as the first written account of the indigenous peoples, wildlife, flora, and fauna of inland North America. It was published again by Cabeza de Vaca in 1555, this time to include descriptions of his subsequent experience as Governor of the Río de la Plata region in South America. A translation was later published under the title ''Naufragios'' ("Shipwrecks").

Background

On December 25, 1526,

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain (as Charles I) from 1516 to 1556, and Lord of the Netherlands as titular Duke of Burgundy (as Charles II) ...

granted Pánfilo de Narváez a license to claim what is now the Gulf Coast of Mexico for the Kingdom of Spain. The contract gave him one year to gather an army, leave Spain, found at least two towns of one hundred people each, and garrison two additional forts anywhere along the coast. Narváez had to secure his own funding for the expedition. He recruited investors by marketing the promise of riches comparable to those recently discovered by

Hernán Cortés Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro Altamirano, 1st Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca (December 1485 – December 2, 1547) was a Spanish ''conquistador'' who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions o ...

in Mexico. He also called in many debts owed to him, and used this money to pay for major expenses of the expedition. Appointed by the Spanish Crown as treasurer and sheriff,

was to serve as the king's eyes and ears, and was second-in-command. He was to ensure the Crown received one fifth of any wealth acquired during the expedition. Other expedition members included

Alonso de Solís Alonso de Solís (? - 1576) was a soldier and explorer who served as governor of Florida between April and July 4, 1576, when he was killed.Turner Bushnell, Amy (1994)Situado and Sabana: Spain support system for the Presidio and Mission Provinces ...

as royal inspector of mines, Alonso Enríquez as comptroller, an

Aztec The Aztecs ( ) were a Mesoamerican civilization that flourished in central Mexico in the Post-Classic stage, post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central ...

prince called Don Pedro by the Spanish, and a contingent of

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

and diocesan priests led by Padre Juan Suárez (sometimes spelled Xuárez). Most of the expedition's 600 men were soldiers, chiefly from Spain and Portugal, including some of mixed African descent, and some 22 from Italy.

The expedition

On June 17, 1527, the expedition departed Spain from the port of

Sanlúcar de Barrameda Sanlúcar may refer to: * Sanlúcar de Barrameda, a city in the Province of Cádiz, Spain * Sanlúcar de Guadiana, a village in the Province of Huelva, Spain * Sanlúcar la Mayor, a city in the Province of Seville, Spain *Sanlúcar de Albaida, forme ...

at the mouth of the

Guadalquivir River The Guadalquivir (, also , , ) is the fifth-longest river in the Iberian Peninsula and the second-longest river with its entire length in Spain. The Guadalquivir is the only major navigability, navigable river in Spain. Currently it is navigable ...

. The total force included about 450 troops, officers, and slaves. About 150 others were sailors, wives (married men could not travel without their wives to the Indies), and servants. The first stop on the voyage was the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

, about a week's journey and 850 miles into the Atlantic. There the expedition resupplied such items as water, wine, firewood, meats, and fruit.

Hispaniola and Cuba

The explorers arrived in

Santo Domingo Santo Domingo, formerly known as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic and the List of metropolitan areas in the Caribbean, largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. the Distrito Na ...

(Hispaniola) sometime in August 1527. During the stay, troops began deserting. Although always a problem on such expeditions, the men may also have deserted because of hearing about the recent return of an expedition led by Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón, in which 450 of 600 men perished. Nearly 100 men deserted the Narváez expedition in the first month in Santo Domingo. The expedition stopped here to purchase horses, as well as two small ships for exploring the coastline. Although Narváez was able to buy only one small ship, he set sail once again. The expedition arrived in

Santiago de Cuba Santiago de Cuba is the second-largest city in Cuba and the capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province. It lies in the southeastern area of the island, some southeast of the Cuban capital of Havana. The municipality extends over , and contains t ...

in late September. As Cuba was the home of Narváez and his family, he had many contacts through whom he could collect more supplies, horses, and men. After meeting with his wealthy friend Vasco Porcallo, Narváez sent part of the fleet to

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...

to collect horses and other supplies from his friend's estate. Narváez put Cabeza de Vaca and a captain named Pantoja in charge of two ships sent to Trinidad, while he took the other four ships to the Gulf of Guacanayabo. On about October 30, the two ships arrived in Trinidad to collect requisitioned supplies and seek additional crew. A hurricane arrived shortly after they did. During the storm, both ships sank, 60 men were killed, a fifth of the horses drowned, and all the new supplies acquired in Trinidad were destroyed. Recognizing the need to regroup, Narváez sent the four remaining ships to Cienfuegos under the command of Cabeza de Vaca. Narváez stayed ashore in order to recruit men and purchase more ships. After nearly four months, on February 20, 1528, he arrived in Cienfuegos with one of two new ships and a few more recruits. The other ship he sent on to

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Diego Miruelo, who claimed extensive knowledge of the Gulf Coast. Historians have debated for centuries his full identity and the extent of his knowledge. In any case, two days after leaving Cienfuegos, every ship in the fleet ran aground on the Canarreos

shoal In oceanography, geomorphology, and Earth science, geoscience, a shoal is a natural submerged ridge, bank (geography), bank, or bar that consists of, or is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material, and rises from the bed of a body ...

s just off the coast of Cuba. They were stuck for two to three weeks, while the men depleted the already meager supplies. Not until the second week of March, when a storm created large seas, were they able to escape the shoals. After battling more storms, the expedition rounded the western tip of Cuba and made its way toward Havana. Although they were close enough to see the masts of ships in port, the wind blew the fleet into the Gulf of Mexico without their reaching Havana. Narváez decided to press on with the journey and colonization plans. They spent the next month trying to reach the Mexican coast but could not overcome the

Gulf Stream The Gulf Stream is a warm and swift Atlantic ocean current that originates in the Gulf of Mexico and flows through the Straits of Florida and up the eastern coastline of the United States, then veers east near 36°N latitude (North Carolin ...

's powerful current.

Arrival in Florida

On April 12, 1528, the expedition spotted land north of what is now

Tampa Bay Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater i ...

. They turned south and traveled for two days looking for what the pilot Miruelo described as a great harbor. During these two days, one of the five remaining ships was lost. Finally, after spotting a shallow bay, Narváez ordered entry. They passed into Boca Ciega Bay north of the entrance to Tampa Bay. They spotted buildings set upon earthen mounds, encouraging signs of culture, food, and water. The natives have since been identified as members of the Safety Harbor culture. The Spaniards dropped anchors and prepared to go ashore. Narváez landed with 300 men in Boca Ciega Bay at what is known as the Jungle Prada Site in present-day

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

. The comptroller Alonso Enríquez was one of the first ashore. Making his way to the nearby native village, he traded items such as glass beads, brass bells, and cloth for fresh fish and venison. Narváez ordered the rest of the company to debark and establish a camp. The next day, the royal officials assembled ashore and, with ritual, performed the formal declaration of Narváez as royal governor of La Florida. He read (in Spanish) the '' Requerimiento'', which stated to any natives listening that their land belonged to

Charles V Charles V may refer to: Kings and Emperors * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise Others * Charles V, Duke ...

by order of the pope. He also said that natives had the choice of converting to Christianity. If they converted, they would be loved and welcomed with open arms; if they chose not to, war would be made against them. The expedition ignored both pleas and threats by a party of natives the next day. After some exploring, Narváez and some other officers discovered Old Tampa Bay. They headed back to the camp and ordered Miruelo to pilot a

brigantine A brigantine is a two-masted sailing vessel with a fully square-rigged foremast and at least two sails on the main mast: a square topsail and a gaff sail mainsail (behind the mast). The main mast is the second and taller of the two masts. Ol ...

in search of the great harbor he had talked about. If he was unsuccessful, he should return to Cuba. Narváez never regained contact with Miruelo or any of the crew of the brig. Meanwhile, Narváez took another party inland, where they found another village, perhaps

Tocobaga Tocobaga (occasionally Tocopaca) was the name of a chiefdom of Native Americans, its chief, and its principal town during the 16th century. The chiefdom was centered around the northern end of Old Tampa Bay, the arm of Tampa Bay that extends betw ...

. The villagers were using Spanish freight boxes as coffins. The Spanish destroyed these and found a little food and gold. The locals told them that there was plenty of both in

Apalachee The Apalachee were an Indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands, specifically an Indigenous people of Florida, who lived in the Florida Panhandle until the early 18th century. They lived between the Aucilla River and Ochlockonee River,Bobby ...

to the north. After returning to their base camp, the Spanish made plans to head north.

Narváez splits forces

On May 1, 1528, Narváez made the decision to split the expedition into land and sea contingents. He planned to have an army of 300 march overland to the north while the ships, with the remaining 100 people, sailed up the coast to meet them. He believed the mouth to Tampa Bay to be a short distance to the north, when in fact it was to the south. Cabeza de Vaca argued against this plan, but was outvoted by the rest of the officers. Narváez wanted Cabeza de Vaca to lead the sea force, but he refused. He later wrote it was a matter of honor, as Narváez had implied he was a coward. The men marched in near-starvation for two weeks before coming upon a village north of the Withlacoochee River. They enslaved the natives and for three days helped themselves to corn from their fields. They sent two exploratory parties downstream on both sides of the river looking for signs of the ships, but found none. Narváez ordered the party to continue north to Apalachee. Years later, Cabeza de Vaca learned what had become of the ships. Miruelo had returned to Old Tampa Bay in the brigantine and found all the ships gone. He sailed to Havana to pick up the fifth ship, which had been supplied, and brought it back to Tampa Bay. After heading north for some time without finding the party on land, commanders of the other three ships decided to return to Tampa Bay. After meeting, the fleet again searched for the land party for nearly a year before finally departing for Mexico. Juan Ortiz, a member of the naval force, was captured by the Uzita. He later escaped to Mocoso, where he lived until rescued by

Hernando de Soto Hernando de Soto (; ; 1497 – 21 May 1542) was a Spanish explorer and conquistador who was involved in expeditions in Nicaragua and the Yucatan Peninsula. He played an important role in Francisco Pizarro's conquest of the Inca Empire in Peru, ...

's expedition.

Meeting the Timucua

From scout reports, the

Timucua The Timucua were a Native American people who lived in Northeast and North Central Florida and southeast Georgia. They were the largest indigenous group in that area and consisted of about 35 chiefdoms, many leading thousands of people. The va ...

knew the Spanish party was nearing their territory. They decided to meet the Europeans as they came near on June 18. Through hand signs and gestures, Narváez communicated to their chief, Dulchanchellin, that they were headed to Apalachee. Dulchanchellin appeared pleased by this (it turned out the Apalachee were his enemies). After the two leaders exchanged gifts, the expedition followed the Timucua into their territory and crossed the

Suwannee River The Suwannee River (also spelled Suwanee River or Swanee River) is a river that runs through south Georgia southward into Florida in the Southern United States. It is a wild blackwater river, about long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrog ...

. During the crossing, an officer named Juan Velázquez charged into it on his horse, and both drowned. His was the first non-shipwreck casualty of the expedition, and the men were disturbed by his death. The starving army cooked and ate his horse that night. When the Spaniards arrived at the Timucua village on June 19, the chief sent them provisions of

maize Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native American ...

. That night, an arrow was shot past one of Narváez's men near a watering hole. The next morning, the Spaniards found the natives had deserted the village. They set out again for Apalachee. They soon realized they were being accompanied by hostile natives. Narváez laid a trap for the pursuing natives, and they captured three or four, whom they used as guides. The Spanish had no further contact with those Timucua.

Apalachee

On June 25, 1528, the expedition entered

territory. Finding a community of forty houses, they thought it was the capital, but it was a small outlying village of a much larger culture. The Spanish attacked, took several hostages including the village's ''

cacique A cacique, sometimes spelled as cazique (; ; feminine form: ), was a tribal chieftain of the Taíno people, who were the Indigenous inhabitants of the Bahamas, the Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles at the time of European cont ...

'', and occupied the village. Although the villagers had none of the gold and riches Narváez was expecting, they did have much maize. Soon after Narváez took the village, Apalachee warriors began attacking the Europeans. Their first attack was a force of 200 warriors, who used burning arrows to set fire to the houses the Europeans occupied. The warriors quickly dispersed, losing only one man. The next day a second force of 200 warriors, equipped with large bows, attacked from the opposite side of the village. This force also quickly dispersed and lost only one man. After these direct attacks, the Apalachee changed to quick assaults after the Spanish started trekking again. They could fire their bows five or six times while the Spanish loaded a

crossbow A crossbow is a ranged weapon using an Elasticity (physics), elastic launching device consisting of a Bow and arrow, bow-like assembly called a ''prod'', mounted horizontally on a main frame called a ''tiller'', which is hand-held in a similar f ...

or harquebus, then fade away into the woods. They harassed the Spanish with

guerrilla tactics Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, Partisan (military), partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include Children in the military, recruite ...

continuously for the next three weeks. During this time, Narváez sent out three scouting missions in search of larger or wealthier towns. All three came back without good news. Frustrated by misfortune and failing health, Narváez ordered the expedition to head south. The Apalachee and Timucua captives told him that the people of Aute had a great deal of food, and their village was near the sea. The party had to cross a large swamp to reach the place. For the first two days out of the village, the Spaniards were not attacked, but once they were up to their chests in water in the swamp, the Apalachee attacked them with a shower of arrows. Nearly helpless, the Spanish could neither use their horses nor quickly reload their heavy weapons, and they found their armor weighing them down in water. After regaining solid ground, they drove off the attackers. For the next two weeks, they made their difficult way through the swamp, occasionally under attack by the Apalachee. When the Spanish finally reached Aute, they found the village already deserted and burnt. They harvested enough corn, beans, and squash from the garden to feed their party, many of whom were starving, wounded and sick. After two days, Narváez sent Cabeza de Vaca to look for an opening to the sea. He did not find the sea, but after half a day's march along the Wakulla River and St. Marks River, he found shallow, salty water filled with oyster beds. Two more days of scouting produced no better results, and the men returned to tell Narváez the news. Narváez decided to go to the oyster beds for the food. With many of the horses carrying the sick and wounded, the Spanish realized they were struggling for survival. Some considered cannibalism to survive. During the march, some of the '' caballeros'' talked about stealing their horses and abandoning everyone else. Although Narváez was too ill to take action, Cabeza de Vaca learned of the plan and convinced them to stay. After a few days stuck near the shallow waters, one man came up with a plan: he suggested reforging their weaponry and armor to make tools and to build new boats to sail to Mexico. The party agreed and started action on August 4, 1528. They constructed a forge out of a log and used deerskins for the bellows. They cut down trees and made charcoal for the forge. Then they made hammers, saws, axes, and nails out of their iron gear. Caulking was made from the pitch of pine trees, and palmetto leaves were used as

oakum Oakum is a preparation of tarred fibers used to seal gaps. Its traditional application was in shipbuilding for caulking or packing the joints of timbers in wooden vessels and the deck planking of iron and steel ships. Oakum was also used in p ...

. They sewed shirts together for sails. Occasionally they raided the Aute village, from which they stole 640 bushels of corn to sustain themselves during the construction. Twice, within sight of the camp, ten men gathering shellfish were killed by Apalachee raids. A055a161 0204

The men killed their horses for food and material while they were building the boats – one horse every three days. They used horsehair to braid rope and the skins for water storage bags. As horses were highly valued by the Spanish, especially the nobility, they named the bay, now known as

Apalachee Bay Apalachee Bay is a bay in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico occupying an indentation of the Florida coast to the west of where the Florida peninsula joins the United States mainland. It is bordered by Taylor, Jefferson, Wakulla, and Franklin ...

, "Bahia de los Caballos" in honor of the sacrifice of the animals. By September 20, they had finished building five boats. They sailed on September 22, 1528. After being ravaged by disease, starvation, and attacks by the various peoples they intended to conquer, 242 men had survived. About 50 men were carried by each boat, which were thirty to forty feet long and had a shallow draft, sail, and oars.

South Texas

Closely following the Gulf Coast, the boats proceeded to the west, but frequent storms, thirst and starvation reduced the expedition to about 80 survivors before a hurricane cast Cabeza de Vaca and his remaining men on the western shore of a

barrier island Barrier islands are a Coast#Landforms, coastal landform, a type of dune, dune system and sand island, where an area of sand has been formed by wave and tidal action parallel to the mainland coast. They usually occur in chains, consisting of an ...

. There they suffered hunger and disease, causing them to name the island the "island of misfortune," "island of doom," or "island of ill fortune" (variously translated).Cabeza de Vaca's La Relacion, page 65
/ref> Historians believe they landed at present-day

Galveston, Texas Galveston ( ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal resort town, resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island (Texas), Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a pop ...

. However, other historians have pointed out that there are several inconsistencies between Cabeza de Vaca's description of the island and Galveston Island. As a result, many historians believe that it is more likely that Cabeza de Vaca and his companions actually landed at what is now Follet's Island, immediately southwest of Galveston Island. Narváez is believed to have been swept out to sea during a storm. For the next four years, Cabeza de Vaca and a steadily dwindling number of his comrades lived in the complex indigenous world of

South Texas South Texas is a geographic and cultural region of the U.S. state of Texas that lies roughly south of—and includes—San Antonio. The southern and western boundary is the Rio Grande, and to the east it is the Gulf of Mexico. The population of th ...

, where tribes of different cultures and languages often lived in conflict with one another. Cabeza de Vaca wrote detailed anthropological notes on the customs and culture of the people he met, including a few tribes that have been tentatively identified by modern researchers, such as the

Karankawa people The Karankawa were an Indigenous people concentrated in southern Texas along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, largely in the lower Colorado River and Brazos River valleys."Karankawa." In ''Cassell's Peoples, Nations and Cultures,'' edited by John ...

along the Gulf Coast and the

Tonkawa The Tonkawa are a Native American tribe from Oklahoma and Texas. Their Tonkawa language, now extinct language, extinct, is a linguistic isolate. Today, Tonkawa people are enrolled in the Federally recognized tribes, federally recognized Tonkawa ...

in central Texas. Most tribe names in the Relación, however, are not attested by any other written source and difficult to link to any tribes mentioned elsewhere.

Southwestern North America

By 1532, only four members of the original expedition survived:

, and

, an enslaved Moor. They headed west and gradually south hoping to reach the Spanish Empire's outpost in Mexico, becoming the first men of Europe and Africa to enter Southwestern North America (present day

Southwestern United States The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural list of regions of the United States, region of the United States that includes Arizona and New Mexico, along with adjacen ...

and Northwest Mexico). Their precise route has been difficult for historians to determine, but they apparently traveled across present-day Texas, perhaps into

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 ...

and

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

, and through Mexico's northern provinces near the Pacific Coast before turning inland. In July 1536, near

Culiacán Culiacán, officially Culiacán Rosales, is a city in northwestern Mexico, the capital and largest city of both Culiacán Municipality and the state of Sinaloa. The city was founded on 29 September 1531 by the Spanish conquistadors Lázaro de ...

in present-day

, the survivors encountered fellow Spaniards on a slave-taking expedition for

New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( ; Nahuatl: ''Yankwik Kaxtillan Birreiyotl''), originally the Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain. It was one of several ...

. As Cabeza de Vaca wrote later, his countrymen were "dumbfounded at the sight of me, strangely dressed and in the company of Indians. They just stood staring for a long time." The Spaniards accompanied the survivors to Mexico City. Estevanico later served as a guide for other expeditions. Cabeza de Vaca returned to Spain, where he wrote a full account, especially describing the many indigenous peoples they encountered. He later served the colonial government in South America.

Representation in other media

'' The Moor's Account'', a 2014 novel by Laila Lalami, is a fictional memoir of Estebanico, the Moroccan slave who accompanied Cabeza de Vaca as one of the four survivors of the expedition. He is known as the first black explorer of America. Lalami explains that nothing is known about him except for one line in Cabeza de Vaca's chronicle: "The fourth urvivoris Estevanico, an Arab Negro from Azamor." It was a finalist for the 2015

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

in fiction. ''A Land So Strange'', a 2007 historical narrative by

Andrés Reséndez In 2017, Reséndez won the Bancroft Prize in American History and Diplomacy for '' The Other Slavery: The Uncovered Story of Indian Enslavement in America''. Early life Reséndez grew up in Mexico City. Education and career He received h ...

, retells the journey for a modern audience using primary sources by Cabeza de Vaca and the official report. ''Esteban: The African Slave Who Explored America'', a 2018 nonfiction biography by Dennis Herrick, dispels centuries of myths and inaccuracies about the African. ''The Gentle Conquistadors'', a 1971 children's novel by

Jeannette Mirsky Jeannette Mirsky Ginsburg (September 3, 1903 – March 10, 1987) was an American writer who was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1947 for her biographical writings on the history of exploration. Early life and education Jeannette R. Mirsky ...

and Thomas Morley, gives a somewhat fictionalized account of the expedition.

References

Sources

* * *Gil-Osle, Juan Pablo. �
Cabeza de Vaca’s Primahaitu Pidgin, O’odham Nation, and euskaldunak
” ''Journal of the Southwest'' 60.1 (2018): 252-68. *Maura, Juan Francisco. ''Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca: el gran burlador de América''. Parnaseo/Lemir. Valencia
Universidad de Valencia
2008 * Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, Álvar. ** ** * * *

External links

''Shipwrecked''
"Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca, and the Description of the Journey Which he Made Through Florida with Panfilo de Narvaez",

World Digital Library The World Digital Library (WDL) is an international digital library operated by UNESCO and the United States Library of Congress. The WDL has stated that its mission is to promote international and intercultural understanding, expand the volume ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Narvaez Expedition Exploration of North America Spanish Florida Catholic Church in Florida Colonial United States (Spanish) Native American history of Florida Native American history of Texas Battles involving Native American people Conflicts in 1527 Conflicts in 1528 Spanish colonization of the Americas Spanish West Indies de:Pánfilo de Narváez#Aufbruch nach Florida