Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca 1490?-1557?
Explorer of the Gulf Coast
In 1527, Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca (AHL vahr NOO nyehs kah BEH sah deh VAH kah) left Spain to go on an expedition to the southeastern part of North America. The expedition planned to conquer lands for Spain.
Poor planning and bad luck made the journey a disaster. In 1528, the ships arrived in Florida. Cabeza de Vaca and other expedition members had to make a difficult journey by foot along the coast. Many of them died. Cabeza de Vaca and other survivors spent months building rafts with almost no tools. Then they set sail across the Gulf of Mexico. A storm destroyed four of the five rafts.
Cabeza de Vaca landed on an island off the coast of Texas. American Indians there took him captive. Cabeza de Vaca spent six years with them. In 1534, he and three of the expedition members escaped. They began a long trek across the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. They traveled among different American Indian groups. After he returned to Spain, Cabeza de Vaca wrote about his adventures. His writings told Europeans about American Indian culture and the lands he traveled in North America.
Critical Thinking
What are some things that could have made Cabeza de Vaca's journey easier?