Alvar Nunez Cabeza De Vaca Analysis

Most of the beginning of American history seems like a race of conquest between the Spaniards and Europeans with Native Americans caught in the crossfire. A seemingly peaceful group of people, the Native Americans were under constant attack from the moment settlers arrived into their territory. Historians can pull from first-hand accounts and primary sources to piece together the history of this nation. One Spainard exploratory mission wrecked off the coast of Florida with about 400 men (OTP S1-6, OTP 22). After long battles and shipwrecks, the expedition was cut short and only four men survived, one an African slave and Spanish explorer named Alvar Nunez Cabeza De Vaca. De Vaca wrote a narrative explaining his encounters with Native Americans who had never seen white or black people before. De Vaca described the Indians as “war like people…and protect themselves from their enemies as they would have if they had been raised in Italy and in continuous war” (OTP S1-6). He explains in his narrative
Frethorne states that they live “even in their teeth” and that they are in great danger at all times. De Vaca says that the Indians he encountered are warlike people and protected themselves from enemies very well. However, in both time frames before these letters were written, the land they now lay claim to had been previously claimed by Indians. The Indians might not have been very hostile or warlike before the English and Spaniards invaded their land, but the Indians are adapting to their changing world. Learning how to fight, learning how to hide, and learning how to take back what was originally theirs. These two documents both describe the Indians as a group of peoples who main objective in life is to fight and survive. However, the Indians were very proud and family oriented. The English and Spaniards only saw the side of the Indians that acted out due to being