Cabeza De Vaca

Alvar Nunez Cabeza De Vaca: The Relation of Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca

To big to link but here is the Route Cabeza de Vaca took.

"We got so angry that we went off forgetting the many Turkish-shaped bows, the many pouches, and the five emerald arrow-heads, etc. (47)"

De Vaca had a fantastic story starting with slavers then being abandoned and shipwrecked and forced to wander in the desert and rely on natives for help, who would then enslave him, and finally finding other spanish slavers.

The real question is why was the one telling the story if he was not leading? Because, he was from a famous family. This is probably why he was able to make peace with the Spanish slavers since they would know who he was. Of course he had to act the part of being betrayed in order to save his families name, but the fact that he got all the above items is proof they had some kind of deal in works. Maybe it was payment for the food, or payment in advance for the slaves.

But for sure I can say De Vaca wanted out of the desert. After being in a miserable condition for years he would have, and did, jump at the chance to get out by betraying his followers. But the way De Vaca tells the story makes for a more interesting, but less real, ending to a tale about the hardship and survival.