Approaches to Teaching Cabeza de Vaca's Account and Other Texts

In 1527 Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca journeyed from Spain to Florida with the ill-fated Pánfilo de Narváez expedition--and ended up wandering by land for years with a small band of survivors before reaching Spanish outposts in modern-day Mexico. He later traveled to South America as an appointed provincial governor, only to be sent back to Spain in chains some years after his arrival. His written works describing his experiences provide insights into the lives of the indigenous peoples of the...