Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca 1488/1490 – Seville, c. 1557/1558) was a Spanish explorer of the New World given the name meaning, "Head Of Cow" in Spanish for the line of explorers in his family who marked their discoveries with a cow skull. He was also one of four survivors of the 1527 Narváez expedition. During eight years of
traveling across the US Southwest, he became a slave, trader and shaman
to various Native American tribes before reconnecting with
Spanish colonial forces in Mexico in 1536. After returning to Spain in 1537, he
wrote an account, first published in 1542 as La Relación ("The Relation",
or in more modern terms "The Account"),
which in later editions was retitled Naufragios ("Shipwrecks"). Cabeza de
Vaca has been considered notable as a proto-anthropologist for his detailed accounts of the
many tribes of American Indians that he encountered.
In 1540 Cabeza de Vaca returned to the Western Hemisphere, appointed adelantado of the Río de la Plata in present-day Argentina, where he was supposed to re-establish
the settlement of Buenos Aires. Unsuccessful, he also came into
conflict with the dominant official in the region, Domingo Martínez de Irala, who had him arrested
in 1544 for poor administration. Cabeza de Vaca was transported to Spain for trial in 1545. Although his sentence
was eventually commuted, he never returned to the Americas. He died in poverty
in Seville.
traveling across the US Southwest, he became a slave, trader and shaman
to various Native American tribes before reconnecting with
Spanish colonial forces in Mexico in 1536. After returning to Spain in 1537, he
wrote an account, first published in 1542 as La Relación ("The Relation",
or in more modern terms "The Account"),
which in later editions was retitled Naufragios ("Shipwrecks"). Cabeza de
Vaca has been considered notable as a proto-anthropologist for his detailed accounts of the
many tribes of American Indians that he encountered.
In 1540 Cabeza de Vaca returned to the Western Hemisphere, appointed adelantado of the Río de la Plata in present-day Argentina, where he was supposed to re-establish
the settlement of Buenos Aires. Unsuccessful, he also came into
conflict with the dominant official in the region, Domingo Martínez de Irala, who had him arrested
in 1544 for poor administration. Cabeza de Vaca was transported to Spain for trial in 1545. Although his sentence
was eventually commuted, he never returned to the Americas. He died in poverty
in Seville.