Chronicle of the Narvaez Expedition

The expedition led by Pánfilo de Narváez was one of the many expeditions led by adventurous Spaniards in the early half of the 16th century. To place this expedition in historical context, Christopher Columbus had only successfully sailed to the Americas 35 years earlier. Just 15 years before Narváez’s expedition, during Pascua Florida (Flowery Easter) in 1512, Juan Ponce de León had landed on a peninsula he named La Florida. Only six years before Narváez sailed, Hernán Cortés had conquered the Aztecs; other Spaniards subjugated and conquered the Mayans prior to and during the Narváez expedition. Mexico was slowly becoming the crown jewel in the Spanish colonial empire. For people like Narváez and Cabeza de Vaca, leading an expedition of exploration and conquest was a way to seek riches, fame, power, and a way to rise in the rigid social hierarchy of Spain.

Cabeza de Vaca came from a minor aristocratic family. He was greatly influenced by his paternal grandfather, Pedro de Vera, a successful and talented commander who had fought against the Moors during the Spanish Reconquista, conquering the largest of the Canary Islands. Arguably, Cabeza de Vaca sought to emulate his grandfather, seeking fame, riches, and promotion through conquest and exploration in the Americas. Cabeza de Vaca’s personal motivations are important to consider when addressing the text. First, because he sought a governorship in the Americas, his narration paints him in a positive light. Second, his account is the only surviving account of the expedition (excepting the summary of the Joint Report by Dorantes, Castillo, and Cabeza de Vaca by Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo y Valdes), so his claims are hard to confirm. Finally, Cabeza de Vaca wrote down the events nearly a decade after returning to Spain, relying on memory. 

Colonization of newly acquired territories was paramount to exercising successful control. Therefore, people who would remain and farm and develop the land were a large contingent of any expedition to the Americas. Thus, it should not be surprising when. As new colonies developed permanent towns and cities, governors and magistrates were under pressure to successfully administer the areas under their control, and the most important aspect was growth. Therefore, it should not be surprising when, in Chapter 1, Cabeza de Vaca mentions that 140 men decided to remain behind in Santo Domingo (the island of the Dominican Republic and Haiti), that the governor of Santo Domingo made overt promises to settlers to remain there, or that the settlers chose the relative safety and security of a region already under Spanish control rather than risk their lives in an unprotected area. That so few survived the Narváez expedition only serves to justify the settlers’ decision to remain behind.

An important note about dates: Cabeza de Vaca used the Julian calendar, while we today use the Gregorian calendar is what is used today. To find the corresponding date in the Gregorian calendar, add ten days. For example, Cabeza de Vaca states that the expedition left Spain on June 27, 1527, which means for the Gregorian calendar that they left on July 7, 1527.