Jacob Lawn
History 7A
Professor Delay
14th September 2015
The Effects of Christianity on Cabeza de Vaca and the Natives
On June 17, 1527, Cabeza de Vaca set sail west on a expedition to conquer and govern the lands from Mexico to the cape of Florida. However, during his journey Cabeza was faced with much devastation such as the wrecking of his ship which resulted in his separation from the majority of his Christian companions. Praying to God after every ordeal, Cabeza routinely sought after his Christian religion to guide him through his unexpected journey. While adventuring and touring through the interior portion of America, Cabeza encountered many different tribes that had already been living on the land. A Majority of the sixteenth century conquistadors imposed their religion through war and violence, Cabeza was one of few conquistadors to stay true to his religion and try to find the goodness in all of the indians he met. Moving from tribe to tribe as a medicine man Cabeza still stayed true to his Christian teachings and implemented them into the way that he communicated with the natives, which led to many tribes following the Christian faith. The religion of Christianity directly influenced the way in which Cabeza de Vaca interacted and felt toward the natives. Throughout the duration of his time traveling across the interior of America, Cabeza was able to practice his religious beliefs throughout all the mishaps he was faced with and was also able to convert many
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
Cabeza de Vaca survived because of his survival skills, his success as a healer, and his respect for Native Americans. Cabeza de Vaca survived because of his wilderness/survival skills. “With other raft survivors adrift in the gulf of Mexico, Cabeza drank water stored in hollowed-out horse-leg containers” (Document B). In Document A, there is a map, that shows how Cabeza had to go through large rivers, deserts, mountain ranges, and he had met up with some Native American tribes in which Cabeza was not welcome. To accomplish these things, he needed great survival skills.
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
According to (http://americanaejournal.hu/vol4no2/gomez-galisteo), in 1527 a Spanish soldier Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca was appionted treasurer to expedition of Panfilo de Narvaez to Florida. Cabeza de Vaca had many duties to fulfill but particularly he was given the task to write an official report to inform Emperor Charles V of the goals, achievements, and circumstances of the journey. During the expedition there was a fault that consisted of the travelers getting lost and losing contact with their ships, and only Cabeza de Vaca and three other members returned to Spanish territory a decade later. One of his reports back to Charles V was Cabeza de Vaca’s experiences living amid the Native Americans for six years and a half. Apparently, in
Christopher Columbus and Cabeza de Vaca were both well experienced explorers of the New World. They both traveled to the New World to find out what was out there and if what they would find, could help them and their country. In the narratives, “Letter of Discovery” by Christopher Columbus and Castaways by Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, they exemplified the overall environment of the New World. Each explorer had quite the experience within the New World and interactions with the natives but they were not quite the same. Columbus’ journey consisted of learning about the new land and obtain resources to bring back to his country. Cabeza de Vaca also wanted to find resources and goods but mainly wanted to explore the land and try to understand if it was possible to create a society alongside the natives. As they went into the New World, they had found new discoveries but their purpose of the journey lead them down paths that would give off two different perspectives.
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.
On June 17, 1527, Cabeza de Vaca set sail on the order to conquer and govern the lands from the Rio Grande to the cape of Florida. However, during his journey he encountered much devastation such as the wrecking of his ship which resulted in his separation from the majority of his Christian companions. Praying to God after every ordeal, Cabeza routinely sought after his Christian religion to guide him through his unexpected journey. While traveling through the interior of America, he also encountered many native tribes which inhabited the land. While most of the Spanish conquistadors in the sixteenth century spread their religion through warlike ways and rearranged societies
Would you be able to survive in the desert terrain, being shipwrecked on a island in the middle of nowhere or escape from indians and walk to mexico city and live to tell the tale? Cabeza de Vaca survived against all odds making it to mexico city after 8 treacherous years after being shipwrecked on an island, captured by indians, starved by the indians and walking alone in the desert for years. How was he able to survive in the new world? There are three main reasons; his survival skills, mutual respect with the Indian tribes and being the best healer in New Spain.
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
How did Cabeza De Vaca survived because he knew the journeys he would face, medical history, and had Indian help. Cabeza De Vaca was a Spanish explorer trying to find gold, and glory for his country. Plus he was a 37 year old military veterinary with 300 men they crash landed in today Florida. After a while he ordered the firearms to be melted down in order to make five rafts in order to carry 50 men each. In a matter of days, 300 men dwindled down to 250 men, then to 80 men and 18 in a matter of months.
The native’s encountered by Columbus and those encountered by Cortes were similar in how they treated the newly arrived Spaniards. They were greatly different, though, in their religious beliefs. The Aztecs seemed to be a very religious group of people. In Cortes’ letter he says, “This great city contains a large number of temples, or houses, for their idols.” Cortes says that those in priesthood wear black and do not curl or comb their hair their entire time in priesthood. Cortes says, “I said everything to them I could to divert them from their idolatries and draw then to a knowledge of our God.” The Aztecs would not convert though, showing the strength of their beliefs. In contrast, those Native Americans encountered by Christopher Columbus did not exemplify any religious beliefs or practices.
At first glance, it would seem that the Christology in Latin America and India have similar themes as both are shaped by Liberation Theology. Although this is factual, the significance of the similarities in Christology is different in each setting. In the context of Latin America, “Christ as Liberator” is particularly salient to the unique history of that region (e.g. civil wars, genocide, economic instability, etc.). Particular attention is given to the aspect of the character of Christ that suffers, not only on the Cross, but with the oppressed and marginalized. The emphasis in Christology is not how the more heady and theoretical understandings of Christ, but the lived reality of Christ. A psychological
While a large number of casualties would have been inevitable, the extent of the death which the Spanish wrought onto the Western hemisphere could not have been accidental,