Cabeza De Vaca Analysis

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Just imagine the challenges and hardships you would have to face had you set out of your home country with the hopes and dreams of better opportunities with your fellow men but instead land on an Island alone with no trace of your fellow men, and that too among people who are ready to enslave you for the rest of your life.Such was the life story of Cabeza De Vaca. In the spring of 1525, five Spanish ships with nearly 550 men left the port of Seville and set course with the hope of establishing new settlements along the Gulf of Mexico. Among the ship's crew was Cabeza de Vaca, a 37 year old military veteran, who would serve as the expedition’s treasurer. After about half of the journey was over only 250 men were left because of the bad weather at sea and other bad decisions made by the leader of the conquest. The survivors left in five groups of 50 in small rafts and Cabeza was commanding one of them. A strong wind blew the rafts out to sea and Cabeza’s raft drifted to a shore, alone, after many days at sea. …show more content…
One day the natives brought him a man that had been hit with an arrow a long time ago and the point of the arrow still rested just above his heart. He says that with just a knife he opened his chest from the exact same place and then with great difficulty he pulled the arrow out. He then gave the man two stitches using deer bone and he healed two days later. And this cure gave us a very great reputation among them throughout the whole land (Doc C). Near the Gulf of California when the Spaniards, The Christians as he called them, try to badmouth about Cabaza and his friends one of the things that the Indians say in favor of them is that we cured the sick (Doc D). This shows that his success and ability as a healer earned also helped him survive. If that had not been the case the Indians would have handed him and his friends over to the Spaniards who would probably have enslaved them or killed