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    Naufragios
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    Naufragios
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    Naufragios
    Ebook143 pages3 hours

    Naufragios

    By Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    Naufragios relata las peripecias de Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca y sus hombres. Estos entraron en contacto con unos indios de la Florida que les hicieron creer que había oro muy cerca. Caminaron durante dos semanas en dirección al noroeste hasta encontrar el primer poblado indígena. Sus impresiones serían después reveladas en sus obras. Tras una tentativa de volver, Alvar Núñez y su grupo continuaron rumbo a los Apalaches, sufrieron el cansancio y los ataques indígenas y encontraron mucho oro. El grupo se dirigió entonces de regreso a la costa y en el trayecto fueron atacados varias veces.
    Alvar Núñez nunca más vio a su capitán Pánfilo de Narváez, quien se negó a lanzarle una cuerda para rescatar su barco. La barca de Narváez fue arrojada mar adentro por un viento muy fuerte y desapareció.
    Cabeza de Vaca consiguió llegar a una isla donde encontraron indios muy amistosos. Allí pudo aprender mucho sobre las costumbres indígenas y sus curas mediante poderes mágicos.
    LanguageEspañol
    PublisherLinkgua
    Release dateJul 9, 2014
    ISBN9788499533544
    Author

    Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca

    Enrique Pupo-Walker is Centennial Professor of Spanish and Portuguese at Vanderbilt University. His edition of Naufragios was published in Spain in 1992. Frances M. López-Morillas is an award-winning translator living in Austin, Texas.

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    4/5

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    • 4/5
      A fascinating read. This version is a translation of Cabeza de Vaca's account, but also lets us know where his account differs from the joint account by the few survivors of the journey. It also recounts some of the details unearthed by Carl Sauer and Cleve Hallenbeck in the 1930s which confirm many of the details in the journal.The details of how little they ate and still survived amaze me. Not to mention the fact that the tribes would eat mostly one food while it was in season, then move on to the next. I wish the book had included a map to follow his trail. The insights of a person who lived among the various tribes not as a conqueror, but as a slave give perspective. He managed to better his situation by learning the languages of several tribes so that he could act as a go-between and do trading back and forth. In that way he was able to gain a little, and he was on the path most of the time alone, so avoided the beatings which were common. He described many of the customs of the people, which seem bizarre to our materialistic culture, such as that when a tribe brought a healer among their neighbors, they would go and pilfer everything they wanted from the homes, then when the pilfered people took the healer to the next tribe, they would do the same. Since the tribes didn't live in one place long, but constantly moved to find the next food source, I don't imagine there was much to pilfer.In the end, the four survivors became healers. Not by choice, but because the tribes they were among at the time decided that they were. So, praying for the people, and blowing on them, then making the sign of the cross, they would pray for healing with all their hearts, because if the people were not healed, they would put the healers to death! The people were healed, many times and miraculously, so that these four became a legend. Rather than take advantage of that though, they seem to have grown compassion for the natives. I believe that their own faith was strengthened and refined, or at least Cabeza de Vaca's was. They did use their power to make the tribes take them to the "Christians" further on (down in Mexico), but they made sure that each tribe had food distributed evenly, and that they did not leave one person without a blessing. When they arrived to the place where the "Christians" were, they found that the land was deserted, the natives had fled in terror because they didn't want to be enslaved. Cabeza de Vaca and the others went to the Governor at that place and protested about the treatment and misunderstandings. In this one place, that changed the way the natives were treated. At least until these four men went home to Spain.In spite of our present feeling about the results of this period of history, I believe it is important to read this sort of first person material to gain perspective. In reading it, it becomes clear how the jumble of history can happen one person at a time through misunderstandings, differing personalities and distant uncomprehending governments with their own agendas.
    • 4/5
      This is the horrifying misadventure of Spanish explorer Cabeza de Vaca. He relates to the Spanish king what befell his fellow Spaniards in their exploration of the new world. The large host he began with, upon reaching Florida, was eventually destroyed by shipwreck, disease, malnourishment and the predations of the indigenous inhabitants. After spending many years making his way up Florida, across the Gulf Coast, through northern Mexico, down the Pacific coast before finally making it home again, only he and three others managed to survive. His detail of the never before seen flora, fauna and descriptions of the various tribes he encountered provided a wealth of detail regarding customs and general anthropology. The survivors went from being abused by the natives to being perceived as medical men with the power to heal and were followed by adoring tribes everywhere they went. When finally encountering fellow Spaniards again, he was horrified by their enslavement and mistreatment of the Indians. He provides new meaning to the word survival as his detail of the suffering they endured and what they had to do to survive makes one ache for them. This would make an excellent adventure film as it touches upon so many aspects of culture clash and wonder.
    • 3/5
      I can't add much to tinkettleinn's review of this book. De Vaca and his crew are essentially murderous Keystone Kops who more or less aimlessly wander around Southeastern America 500 years ago in search of food, shelter, and (unwilling) native guides while trying to find a way home. Along the way they enslave, murder, kidnap, torture, and steal all of the food of the natives (when they have the upper hand), and are themselves enslaved by, or work at minor jobs for, the natives (when they don't have the upper hand). De Vaca and his crew lose and find one-another over and over again throughout the narrative, bumbling around under the author and a few of his compatriots almost accidentally find their way back to "civilization."De Vaca's account is not a pleasant read, but it gives insight into the biased world-view of a Spanish adventurer and the lives of the natives living in Southeastern America 500 years ago. It is an interesting read, and educational, but not light or enjoyable by any means. My star rating reflects a compromise between 5 stars for educational/historic merit and 1 star for enjoyable/happy reading.
    • 4/5
      A fascinating read. It was amazing how he kept finding and losing his shipmates.