Cabeza De Vaca's La Relacion

The book “A Land So Strange” by Andrés Reséndez basically illustrates 8 years of long odyssey from what is now Tampa, Florida to Mexico City on Cabeza de Vaca’s perspective. Cabaza de Vaca along with his companions named Andres Dorante, Alonso del Castillo, and Estebanico, are survivors of failed expedition to New World from Spain during 16th century. Unlike other members from the expedition, these four members found a way to live with native Indian tribes to survive. They were slaves of Indians and treated cruelly all the time. However, after long period of time of being slaves, they decided to make escape to Spanish territory. During their fugitive period, they had chance to help injured Indians. Their knowledge of certain medicine,

Cabeza de Vaca changed drastically though his journey. When he starts off he’s very much focused on doing this for God and king, but he slowly becomes less concerned with that. He also develops a more accepting and worldly mind. When he first meets Native Americans he terrified that they’re going to sacrifice him#, because that’s the stereotype of the natives, but they are in fact very kind and offer him and his men fish and roots to eat. However, the Cabeza de Vaca from the end of the book would know better. He develops a lot of empathy for the natives and their plight at the hands of the Spanish,

However, he then goes on to say how deeply moved they were, which is somewhat ironic. It's almost as if Cabeza de Vaca and his followers know that the Indians aren't truly unworthy creatures but they use what everybody already agrees upon to manipulate their supposed worthiness and justify their claims. He also goes on to explain the warrior-like tendencies of the Indians and how fierce and relentless they are. He describes them by saying, "whoever has to fight Indians must take great care not to let them think he is disheartened or that he covets what they own. In war they must be treated very harshly, for should they notice either fear or greed, as a people they know how to bide their time waiting for revenge and take courage from their enemies' fears. After using up all their arrows, they part, each going his own way, without attempting pursuit, although one side might have more men than the other. Such is their custom." (68) They have these customs that are very unnatural and are not normative behavior. Cabeza de Vaca refers to the customs of the Charruco Indians with great

Being one of four survivors out of a crew of 250 on the expedition Cabeza de Vaca was a part of, was not a walk in the park. Cabeza was on a ship setting sail for the New World, in 1527, when his ship was blown off course and landed him in Galveston Island, Texas. The Native Americans living in Galveston eventually became his slave owners for two years before he escaped. He encountered many obstacles including starvation, thirst, unfamiliarity, slavery, etc. He endured all of these over a course of seven years, before he made it out alive. The question that remains is, how did Cabeza de Vaca survive all of this? Cabeza survived, because he was very resourceful, he had the advantage of being able to

Cabeza de Vaca survived because of his success as a healer. “With a knife that I had, I opened his chest to that place…. I inserted the knife point, and with great difficulty, at last I pulled it out.” (Doc. C) “And this cure gave us a very great reputation among them throughout the whole land.” (Doc. C) “Cabeza and his crew members cured those who were sick and (the Spaniards) killed those who were well.” (Doc. D) All of these statements have to do with him being a success as a healer, either what he did to help them or what his effect was on other Native Americans.

de la Casas describes the second voyage that he embarked upon with Columbus. He described how each island was depopulated and destroyed. His observations of the land were no so descriptive of the native people and the land, but of the gruesome images the Spanish painted upon the Indies. de la Casas says, “…the Indians realize that these men had not come from Heaven (9).” He goes into detail about how the Christians would take over villages and had no mercy describing one particularly crude act to show how ruthless the Spanish were. He says, “Then they behaved with such temerity and shamelessness that the most powerful ruler of the islands had to see his own wife raped by a Christian officer (9).” The Spanish were so coward and angry anytime an Indian was actually capable of slaying a Spanish man that a rule was made; for every Christian slain, a hundred Indians would die. Natives were captured and forced to work jobs like pearl diving where they would very rarely survive due to man eating sharks or just from drowning and holding their breaths

In A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies, Bartolomé de Las Casas vividly describes the brutality wrought on the natives in the Americas by the Europeans primarily for the purpose of proclaiming and spreading the Christian faith. Las Casas originally intended this account to reach the royal administration of Spain; however, it soon found its way into the hands of many international readers, especially after translation. Bartolomé de Las Casas illustrates an extremely graphic and grim reality to his readers using literary methods such as characterization, imagery, amplification, authorial intrusion and the invocation of providence while trying to appeal to the sympathies of his audience about such atrocities.

Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca wrote his letters for entirely different reasons. His sole purpose was to inform others (of his sufferings and his discoveries of the Native Americans). He also wanted to “justify his conclusions regarding Spanish policy and behavior in America” which is mainly addressed to Charles V. De Vaca believes that “[his] only remaining duty is to transmit what [he] saw and heard in the nine years [he] wandered lost and miserable over many remote lands.” Therefore, he conveys to Charles V the many incidents that occurred throughout his struggle for survival while in Texas. In De Vaca’s opinion, he thinks that the information he is revealing will be useful to others and will be “of no trivial value for those who go in [his majesty’s] name to subdue countries.”

Spain sought out to colonize the New World and, most importantly, influence Christianity. This writing is historically significant because it validates the interactions of the aggressive Christians doing and the innocent Indians, which is eventually revealed to the Spanish public. Certain use of pathos in Cabeza de Vaca’s perspective is the most persuasive tool in his journal. His own experience in land where he too was enslaved, like how the Indians were to the Spanish, justifies his own thoughts and empathy for the victims. His accounts as a witness prompt readers to believe his word. Cabeza de Vaca’s insight onto how the foreigners treated the natives and why they were inclines to retaliate, was intended to reveal the truth. This line stated directly to his audience explains his betrayal, lastly exposing the Spanish men: “This clearly shows how the design of men sometimes miscarry. We went on with the idea of insuring the liberty of the Indians…when we believed it to be

Cabeza got better along with the indians because of his success as a healer. While with the Indians he had to pull out the arrow of an Indian who had been wounded by an arrow. His surgery was successful and that gained him respect from the Indians (documents c). The Indians talked about how Cabeza De Vaca was better then the Spanish cause he cured the sick. ( documents d) His success as a healer made the Indians want him around so he was able to stay alive.

Cabeza de Vaca went through many things that gave him a new outlook. He was a slave and then considered to be a scared healer. On his return to Spain Cabeza de Vaca reported of the inhumane treatment of the natives. New laws about the treatment of natives were taken.

Cabeza may have taken the viewpoint of peaceful conversion rather than that of most other Spanish explores, who would use terror and violence for conversion, due to his experience with certain natives after the capsize of his boat. In reaction to their sight "The Indians, understanding our full plight, sat down and lamented for half an hour so loudly they could have been heard a long way off" (Covey 57). Cabeza then says in reaction to the natives' actions "It was amazing to see these wild, untaught savages howling like brutes in compassion for us" (Covey 57-58). The mindset of peaceful interaction between the Indians and Europeans in Cabeza's crew might have been confirmed after this encounter. Also after the wreck of the ship, Cabeza was brought to the natives' village and was given a place to sleep and was fed in the morning. This gesture

Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca and his companions, Andres Dorantes, Alonzo del Castillo Maldonado, and Estevan were the sole survivors of a four hundred men expedition. The group of them went about the friendly Indian tribes preforming miracles of healing, with the power of Christianity. At one time five sick persons were brought into the camp, and the Indians insisted that Castillo should cure them. At sunset he pronounced a blessing over the sick, and all the Christians united in a prayer to God, asking him to restore the sick to health, and on the following morning there was not a sick person among them. De Vaca and his companions reached the Pacific coast where the Indians, showed signs of civilization, living in houses covered with straw, wearing cotton clothes and dressed skins, with belts and ornaments of stone, and cultivating their fields, but had been driven therefrom by the brutal Spanish soldiery and had taken refuge in the mountains, de Vaca and his comrades, being regarded as emissaries from the Almighty, exercised such power over these untutored savages that, at their bidding, the Indians returned to their deserted habitations, and began again to cultivate their fields, the assurance being given them by de Vaca and his companions that henceforth they would

As a new and mysterious world awaits to be discovered, daring conquistadors leave their home country of Spain in a journey of exploration. Two men by the name of Narvaez and Cabeza de Vaca set sail to thwart the untrustworthy Cortez who, behind the backs of Narvaez and Cabeza de Vaca, sailed to the New World with half of Narvaez’s crew in search of treasures. However, the journey would prove to be treacherous as the conquistadors would have to encounter hostile Native Americans and strange terrain they have never seen before. Throughout the expedition, future encounters between the Native Americans and conquistadors were heavily influenced by the personalities of the individuals and past experiences the Native Americans faced.

The Black Legend and White Legend: Relationship Between the Spanish and Indians in the New World