In the two decades following Columbus’ discovery of the West Indies,
Spain launched dozens of expeditions to explore and colonize the New World. King
Ferdinand richly rewarded Columbus, his descendants, and other explorers. The native
inhabitants of the islands, docile and gentle Tainos, were easily dominated,
and the New World was brimming with opportunity.
To encourage colonization, the Spanish established an encomienda system,
whereby Spanish noblemen were awarded tracts of land and assigned Taino slaves. The landowners made huge fortunes and part of
the profit from these colonies was paid directly to the king as tribute. Spanish soldiers-of-fortune flooded the islands,
seeking riches. Encomienda grants were
doled out on a first-come, first-served basis, and the competition was fierce.
Panfilo de Narvaez, a tall, blond native of Castile, came to the
Caribbean as a soldier determined to make his fortune. Even though he was of noble birth and had
friends in high places, Panfilo exhibited a natural tendency to screw-up. According to contemporary reports, he had an
authoritarian personality and was unusually cruel to the Taino natives. Considering some of his decisions, he was
less than bright. Indications are that
de Narvaez was an arrogant, cruel and stupid soldier, dependent on relatives
for his position and oblivious to the needs of his subordinates.
In 1511, Panfilo’s uncle, Diego Valazquez
de Cuellar, the first governor of Cuba, put him in charge of the army with
orders to conquer the unarmed Tainos and subject the island to Spanish rule. Father Bartolome de Las Casas watched as de
Narvaez’s troops murdered 2500 peaceful natives whose only crime was bringing
food offerings to the soldiers. Watching
the massacre, the priest changed his attitude toward the Tainos and fought
against the encomienda system, slavery, and mistreatment of Indians for the
rest of his life.
When Cuba was secure, Governor de Cuellar sent Hernan Cortes to conquer
Mexico for him. After launching the
expedition, the governor realized the ambitious Cortes might take over Mexico
and keep it for himself. He ordered
Cortes back to Cuba. Cortes ignored the
order. In 1520, de Cuellar appointed his
nephew governor of Mexico and sent him with 1400 men to arrest Cortes, put him
in irons, and bring him back to Cuba.
Cortes, with 250 troops, proved
his military worth by whipping de Narvaez and his army. De Narvaez not only demonstrated military ineptitude,
but lost an eye in the battle and Cortes threw him into prison in Veracruz for
two years. The Cuban soldiers, promised gold and recognizing
competent leadership, deserted Narvaez and joined Cortes. With his new army, Cortes decided to keep
Mexico for himself, showing that de Cuellar was a shrewd judge of character.
When Panfilo de Narvaez was released from prison, he made his way back
to Spain. Working through contacts in
the government, he convinced King Charles V to back him in a mission to explore
and colonize the land along the Gulf coast, from Florida to Mexico. The king provided ships, soldiers, and
colonists, and de Narvaez led the expedition.
In June of 1527, with five ships and 600 men, de Narvaez sailed back to
the New World, planning to conquer and colonize all the land north of the Gulf
of Mexico.
King Charles, wishing to protect his interests, sent a bright young man
along to keep records for the king and to act as second in command. Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca joined the
expedition for his first trip to the new world.
Most of what we know of the expedition is because of his writings.
The expedition first landed at the island of Hispaniola, where about
one-fourth of the crew deserted. The
soldiers had no confidence in their one-eyed commander, and desertion was a constant
problem. Two ships and more men were
lost in a hurricane off the Cuban coast.
De Narvaez planned to start at the mouth of Rio de Las Palmas, north of
Vera Cruz, and work his way east, but became lost and confused. Very confused. He managed to land some three hundred men on
the east coast of Florida, near present Tampa Bay. Because of the confusion, de Narvaez decided
to work west to the Rio de Las Palmas, which he thought to be about fifty
miles. The expedition most likely used
the crude map drawn by Alavarez de Pineda eight years before, which showed
Florida to be a peninsula and not an island as Ponce de Leon believed.
De Narvaez, in a decision openly opposed by Cabeza de Vaca, sent the
ships back to Havana and decided to march his troops overland to explore and
occupy the country. Local Indians,
having learned from de Leon that Europeans could not to be trusted, were less
than happy to see de Narvaez’s expedition.
Unable to fight the well-equipped Spaniards in the open, they hid in the
jungle and picked off the Spaniards one or two at a time with arrows or lances.
Rather than allow the soldiers to
occupy their villages, the Indians burned them.
There was no gold or silver and
very little food. The Spanish were soon reduced
to eating their horses.
Six months of struggling through the swamp, fighting Indians and
starving, convinced de Narvaez to abandon his ambitions and return to
civilization. There was, however, a
problem—no ships. Cabeza de Vaca felt
the expedition should go to Mexico across country, but de Narvaez overruled
that notion. The soldiers built a forge,
and melted down every bit of metal they could find—horseshoes, stirrups, bits,
fasteners, buttons, armor, anything metal—and made tools and nails to build
rafts. They built five rafts, each
designed to hold forty men with oars, and used their clothing to make sails.
De Vaca protested separation of the
rafts, thinking it best that they work together. Instead, Narvaez picked the forty strongest
men to row his raft and made it clear that each barge and every man was on his
own. As they sailed and rowed close to
shore, the heavy current of a river, probably the Mississippi, swept de
Narvaez’s raft and two others out to sea, leaving Cabeza de Vaca to make his way along the coast with the two remaining rafts.
 |
| De Narvaez's raft was washed out into the Gulf, probably by the force of the Mississippi River. He and 150 men were lost in the Gulf of Mexico. |
Cabeza de Vaca, with two rafts and eighty-six men, kept close to shore
and made his way west, planning to follow the coast to civilization in Mexico. A hurricane washed them ashore and destroyed
the rafts on a barrier island off the coast of Texas. It may
have been Galveston Island, but most historians believe it was a bit farther
down the coast at Follets Island. De
Vaca named the island “The Isle of Misfortune.”
Only fifteen of the eighty-six men survived the winter. Naked, without tools or weapons,
and lost on a barren island, some
drowned, many starved to death and some were killed by Indians for “sport.” Cabeza de Vaca made his way to the mainland where
he almost died of an illness. Nursed back to health by the Indians, he
stayed on the mainland several months.
When de Vaca regained his health, he made his way back to the “Isle of
Misfortune” and discovered that twelve of the survivors had swum to the
mainland, planning to walk to Mexico.
Two men remained and de Vaca joined them to live on
the island. The Indians permitted the trio
to stay, and sometimes traded food for menial labor. De Vaca collected seashells and bartered for
hides and other items with mainland Indians.
In a short time, he became a well-known trader and travelled extensively
among the tribes along the coast.
More to come----
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