Customer Reviews

Cabeza de Vaca's Adventures in the Unknown Interior of America

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Cabeza de Vaca and some of his fellow Spaniards went through some incredible hardships as some of the first Europeans in the New World. They first set out on an ill-advised voyage from Cuba to Florida, where they lost their ships. They built primitive boats which they intended to sail around the coast to Mexico. They went past Mobile Bay, then cut across the Gulf to Texas, where they were captured by the local tribe. Of the 300 Spaniards who left out on the voyage, only 4 survived to tell the tale. De Vaca spent years as a slave to the Indians. He was half-starved (as were his hosts), regularly beaten, and naked. He eventualy linked up with some of his surviving comrades, including a Moorish slave, and they began an epic journey across what is now the Southwest United States and Northern Mexico. He gained a reputation as a medicine man, and soon had an entourage of thousands that travelled with him from village to village. When he finally reached Spanish settlements on the Pacific, the only thing his fellow 'civilized' men were interested in were his followers, which they saw as easy prey for slaves. De Vaca tried in vain to stop the slavers. This was a man who never lost his faith in God or his faith in man. It is simly an incredible journey, and one that does not get enough attention. Though this account is nearly half a millenium old, the translation is easy to read and not at all boring.

This work relates the adventures of a Spaniard who travelled on the first foray into Florida, under the command of a greedy Governor Navarez who was eager to find rich cities to conquer, as Cortez had recently done against the Aztecs. Navarez, however, was no Cortez, and one mistake after another put the entire expedition in jeopardy. De Vaca's account relates what became of this expedition into Florida and the American West. It is no exaggeration to claim that this is one of the most significant books ever to be written, however this particular translation was not without its own flaws. I could imagine a better, easier to read translation than this (this one was first published in 1961). Additions made in brackets were sometimes confusing and broke in without often adding any information that aided in the reading. He does include portions that compare this account with another referred to as the Joint Report which were all right. Descriptions of place would better have been shown on a map (but the book has no maps or illustrations at all). At the close I would have liked to see a concluding bio of De Vaca but instead got an unneccesary Epilogue on the literary significance of the work, after the work has already spoken for itself. The first time I read about this was in Journey Into Darkness by John Upton Terrell, who used this Relacion to tell the story, but failed by often looking back on the event from our own day, as opposed to transporting you back as a translation of the original Relacion should do. In this case the rating is based only on this edition while the story itself is one of the most important works in the world.

After reading Cabeza de Vaca's account, it is hard to believe his tale hasn't been made into an epic movie. Of course, the story's treatment of Indians as real, complex people would not have worked in the era of the cowboy-and-Indian movies. Ironically, now that attitudes toward Native Americans would allow a sensitive treatment, such a vast story would be prohibitively expensive to shoot and take several hours to tell properly. But the payoff would be immense. When the lights came up, the viewers would wonder how they ever could have settled for the mythical movie "Dances with Wolves".

Note: Cabeza de Vaca's story is paraphrased in a book called "Journey into Darkness". It helps greatly in understanding the true nature of his journey, telling, for example, what Indian tribes he may have been encountering and where exactly he was at a given time. Incidently, Cabeza de Vaca greatly underestimated the distance he had traveled.

Everyone else's reviews are so right on the money. The story reminds us of a century of American exploration that occured before the English had even taken an interest in the New World. And it also gives us an amazingly close glimpse of what life was probably really like among the tribes of Native Americans living along the Gulf Coast. I don't know what to add, except for a comment about the afterward: Cabeza de Vaca could be described as the first American naturalist. Somewhwere between the discovery of the new world, and the twentieth century, people began to travel through the wilderness for the sake of enjoying nature rather than for any practical reason like looking for gold(Humboldt, Muir, Rooseveldt are just a few examples of this sort of "explore for pleasure" mind set). 8 years in the wilds of Florida, Gulf Coast, Texas and Northern mexico were enough to give Cabeza de Vaca a permenant case of new world wanderlust. When the King of Spain awarded Cabeza de Vaca with the governorship of Paraguay years later, Cabeza de Vaca did something strange: en route to Assuncion, he ordered his boats to go ashore in unexplored southern Brazil, 1000 miles from Assuncion, and took a band of men on a voluntary hike through the wilds overland to Assuncion, rather than sailing the boats up the Rio de Plata. Cabeza de Vaca's second book features an account of his voluntary nature hike. A moor survived the US trek with Cabeza de Vaca (appears as a character in the book), but never quite found his place his Spanish society afterword; the moor wandered up into New Mexico to live again among the native americans, and eventually was killed by angry native americans.

When I first moved to the Southwest, I asked locals to recommend books to learn about the area. I am so glad someone recommended this. I had never heard of Cabeza de Vaca. His peregrinations through the terra incognita of America in the early 1500's led me to the whole obscured chapter of the history of North America: when much of it was a colony of Spain. Cabeza de Vaca & his few companion shipwreck survivors started it all. His tales of what he'd seen (& heard of) in what's now the American Southwest led to Coronado's quest for the golden Cities of Cibola (guided by Esteban,a black servant who had been one of de Vaca's companions); & directly to the European settlement of the region centuries earlier than it otherwise would have happened. In most history books, the Spanish colonization is-AT BEST-a footnote in a history that begins with the Pilgrims (a century LATER).
And to archaeologists: take heed! Not all explorers of a new land leave distinctive artifacts to mark their passage. If not for de Vaca's written description of his experiences, which led directly to the Coronado expedition, this journey would be "unknown".
Its a shame that history books are so biased toward the "east-to-west" Anglo. version of American history; nobody should miss wonderful episodes like Cabeza de Vaca's 8-year odyssey. This chapter in history shouldn't be "unknown" to anybody!

I had never heard of Cabeza De Vaca until I chanced across this book. This is Cabeza De Vaca's story of how he, among two hundred Spanish soldiers, was shipwrecked in Florida in 1528. This harrowing but fascinating story tells about the walk to the nearest Spanish outpost--in Mexico.

It takes years, of course, and along the way, Cabeza De Vaca is sometimes treated as a slave and sometimes as a medicine man by the Indians he encounters. When he arrives in Mexico, he is accompanied only by a large troupe of Indians--everyone else is dead. And the Indians with him are immediately enslaved themselves. He spent the rest of his life battling to help the Indians.

For further information, see http://www3.pbs.org/weta/thewest/wpages/wpgs610/cabeza.htm.

What an incredible tale of personal survival this historical account is! I read it in view of teaching it to my American Literature students; I wanted to present some of the European accounts of survival that preceded the colonization of New England; I wanted my students to be aware of some of the literature of discovery that is available to them.

I found that this short historical report could work in a literature class under such themes as a Quest/Personal Journey tale, or as Discovery epic, or as a report on Native-American societies in the inland of the Continent, or as a solid Adventure story. Cabeza de Vaca survived a 9-year "Outward Bound" challenge.

At whatever level or approach that you want to encounter this book, just be sure that you make time for it. Remarkable, it really is.

For many, if not most Americans, early history of the Americas goes something like this - Columbus to the Pilgrims to the American Revolution, end of story. Unfortunately, this abbreviated tale not only leaves many gaps in knowledge, but bypasses some truly amazing stories. `Cabeza De Vaca's Adventures in the Unknown Interior of America' is one of the best examples of the incredible tales that are often overlooked from the early history of European exploration and conquest of the Americas.

This is a first hand account from a survivor of an ill-fated attempt of a Spanish conquistador to conquer and colonize Florida and the Gulf Coast of North America. Of over four hundred proud men who landed with high hopes of vast wealth in gold, only four survived, after an eight year struggle, making their way across the North American continent from Florida back into Spanish controlled Mexico. The author of the book emerged naked from the wilderness, with nothing of value to show for his harrowing eight year experience except his story, which he wrote hoping to gain favor from his king.

The tale of the author's eight year struggle is simply incredible, and for most modern readers, sometimes unbelievable. He relates the missteps and misadventures that reduced him and his companions from proud conquistadors to weak, naked men, sometimes only surviving as slaves of native tribes. His writing gives a unique snapshot of Native life in that region before its conquest by Europeans, and covers a wide variety of tribes and cultures, both those who were hostile and helpful to him. In the second half of his narrative, he relates events that are nearly impossible for most modern minds to credit, as he tells of how he gained status with the natives by becoming a faith healer, and even of raising a man from the dead. Regardless of whether or not you credit his stories of becoming a faith healing messiah followed by hundreds of adoring natives as historical, it certainly makes for an amazing and lively tale.

While the story itself certainly merits five stars, the writing does not rise to the same level. Cabeza De Vaca was not primarily a writer, and was not writing for a broad audience, but only to impress his king in hopes that he would be rewarded for his service. He leaves out details, background, and scrambles chronology, which may make it necessary to reread certain passages to make sure you get the gist of what he is writing. Of course, as he wrote in Spanish, there is the factor of what is lost in translation as well. Still, this slim volume is packed with fascinating information and incredible tales of survival, and I highly recommend that you discover it for yourself - four stars.

Theo Logos

Why read a 'history' fantasy when you can read one man's true adventure? "Adventures in the Unknown Interior of America" is a real source document. Rolling through the pages one can sense the genuine experience of a man alone in the 'New World', and understand the very real challenges. Through Cabeza de Vaca's eyes one can get a fresh look at the Native American cultures that existed before Europeans took over.

History really happened, it is not the musings of men (or women) who were not there. History is the actual experience of the participants. This book is alive with the living experience of a key player in the exploration of the American continent by Europeans.

And, there is a bonus. The book reveals the character of a man, and the impact of real events on that character . Cabeza de Vaca grows and changes in the pages. With all of the paper wasted in the publishing business, and all of the speculations of historians staining perfectly good paper, it is a joy to behold the real thing.

in every high school class, now that it costs next to nothing. This is colonial American history every bit as significant as the writings of John Smith (Virginia colony) and William Bradford (Plymouth colony). It also offers more accurate ethnographic information. Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca was a remarkable man who understood more than most would-be conquistadors, and whose experiences among the indigenous inhabitants of North America convinced him that the Spanish had much to learn from these new peoples they sought to dominate. Cabeza de Vaca's narrative makes clear that at the very beginnings of colonization, there were efforts to reconcile the profound diffenences that gave rise to five centuries of cultural conflict. His attitudes stand in such marked contrast to Hernanado De Soto, Francisco Coronado, Juan de Onate, and others, that it is perhaps too easy to romanticize Cabeza de Vaca.

This book is based on one of the reputable translations of Cabeza de Vaca's work. It has useful historical and literary assesments of the work. It might have been improved with a map or two.