Reflection Of La Relacion

Matthew Restall, a Professor of Latin American History, Women’s Studies, and Anthropology at Pennsylvania State University. He also serves the Director of the university’s Latin Studies. Throughout “Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest,” he discusses many false truths that have been passed down through history. For instance, he discusses, “The Myth of Exceptional Men.” “The Myth of Spanish Army,” and “The Myth of Completion.” For the sake of time, I will discuss three myths that correlate with class lectures and serve as the topic of this paper, “The Myth of Exceptional Men,” “The Myth of the King’s Army,” and the “Myth of the White Conquistador.” It should be noted that Restall speaks to his audience assuring us that his “...his purpose is not to degenerate this technique of historical writing completely...Nor do I mean to create a narrative in which individual action is utterly subordinated to the larger structural forces and causes of social change.” (4). He states that his intentions are to react to more than just the works of Columbus, Pizzaro, and Cortez.

Overall, Cabeza de Vaca’s adventure shows multiple beliefs and cultures in a constantly struggling society as well as the viewpoints that come from the different races within that region. Readers of this account will see that actions, whether positive of negative, have consequences and those that choose the negative path will not always have the greatest

It’s interesting to observe how little the hundreds of deaths seem to affect Cabeza de Vaca. It seems unlikely that the death of 596 fellow men didn’t upset him a little, yet he never speaks of the deaths of other people in a traumatic manner. Perhaps this is because his writings are meant to be an official report to the king of Spain, and not a personal journal of his thoughts and feelings. Considering the time, it may also have been more or less expected that many men would die. I’m sure the men knew there wasn’t a 100%, or even 80% survival rate for these kinds of expeditions. It is also interesting to note how much Cabeza de Vaca attributes to God. He often thanks “the will of God”. For example, when they are fortunate enough to find land.#

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

He also portrays the natives with lucid terms so as to shed an innocent light on them in an attempt to instill into his readers why it is so wrong for the Indians to be treated as they are by the Europeans.

“A Land So Strange” is a book any history enthusiast would enjoy. Beautifully written by Andres Resendez he is able to show the epic journey of Cabeza de Vaca through a book. Cabeza de Vaca a Spaniard scholar who shipwrecked in Florida in 1528 with a group of about 300 Spanish men, explorers, and slaves who accompanied him along the way. Having hopes to claim and settle in Florida but unexpectedly consistent events; like nature, natives, and loss of navigation turned their mission into an unexpected journey. Andres Resendez wonderfully words these unexpected events with a pleasant amount of detail that any reader could picture the journey of eight years of challenges leaving only four survivors Cabeza de Vaca, two other Spaniards, and an African slave who ended up wanting to just go back home. Regardless of these events he is considered one of the best explorers who survived the unimaginable and lead even with the lack of supplies and men to get their way back home. The journey was humbling by the fact he had to survive with what was around him and pushed through because of his curiosity to know more. This book is informative and practical because the author was able to illustrate his words that created a story based upon facts and understanding of the main characters experience that allowed one to see the passion Cabeza de Vaca in his expedition.

On Tuesday, July 11, 2017, I made a trip to the Denver Art Museum. I found a painting by Gustave Dore, a French painter from Paris, France. The piece was, The Family of Street Acrobats: the Injured Child painted in 1873. After studying this piece of art in person I noticed many different elements and characteristics in the actual painting. These are not seen in the photographed image of the painting that is on the Denver Art Museum Online.

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

In the narrative, Castaways, it illustrates more of a realistic experience with their journey to the New World. Cabeza de Vaca descriptively explains the events for the reader to understand the ups and downs of their exploration. Cabeza de Vaca and his men, throughout the exploration, became culturized to the way the natives live. For example, towards the end of the exploration, Cabeza de Vaca was wearing little to no clothing, just like the natives. Cabeza de Vaca states, “I had no other protection against the cold, being naked as the day I was born” (Cabeza de Vaca, 69). The lack of clothing was something Cabeza de Vaca became accustomed to because of spending so much time with the natives. In addition to not having clothing, the temperatures were extremely cold causing an issue with several of the men and natives during the journey. His description of “being naked as the day I was born” (Cabeza de Vaca, 69) makes the reader understand how much of change coming to the New World has been on the explorers. They arrived at the New World fully clothed but as time went on, their presentation of themselves had changed. Like stated earlier, it represents how the explorers have adapted to life with the natives and took on roles and customs as well. As the

Can you imagine setting sail with about 600 men on a conquest hoping to successfully complete a task. Instead your castaway and you are one of four survivor’s out of 600 men; We can all attempt to imagine, but this was reality for Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca. In the early 1500’s Alvar Nuñez was amongst the first Europeans to step foot in what is known as North America today. The narrative and film Cabeza de Vaca Relacion and Cabeza de Vaca the film, recounts the trials and tribulations of the eight year journey. The film adaptation of Chronicle of the Narváez Expedition compares to the text in many ways. The film is merely a mirror to the narrative and although the film is not as long as the book it gives its audience visual validation of the hardships Alvar Nunez and his men endured, The way in which Alvarez was inhumanly treated by the Indians and how Alvar Nunez became popular and respected in the Indian community.

If you image yourself riding on a boat to set sail for new land and riches and you get thrown off path well that is what happened to Cabeza and his crew. The narvaez expedition sailed in 1527 until 1532 they went on this expedition because they wanted to set sail for new world. After the expedition the ships were carried off course in the gulf of mexico to what is today called Tampa, Florida. Cabezas rafts were blown ashore to Galveston Island and Indians captured him and he was slave for two years (background essay). How did Cabeza de vaca survive? Cabeza de vaca survived because of his success as a healer, survival skills, and his respect for the native americans.

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

Have you ever been shipwrecked in East Texas with 3 other men and 2400 miles away from help? Well that's what happened with Cabeza De Vaca when he was on an expedition to new Spain in the 1520s. With all of this happening you might be wondering how he survived. Cabeza de vaca survived mainly because of his communication skills,because He was a healer,and because of his relationship with the native americans

While on the journey, Cabeza de Vaca uses a gloomy tone in his report La Relacion. Some people believe in God and some do not. After the crash de Vaca explains in his narrative ,“Nothing but God’s great mercy kept us from going down” (de Vaca 73). He believed that they are still alive because God is protecting them and even though some of the spaniards died God is still protecting them. Death is very scary for a lot of people because no one knows what happens after a someone dies. In other words, de vaca writes, “ I would have welcomed death rather than see so many around me in such condition” (deVaca 73). de Vaca was feeling very terrible when he said this and did not want to be alive and would rather be dead more than anything while writing this in his narrative.