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Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca

Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca (Jerez de la Frontera, c. 1488/1490/1492 – Seville, c. 1557/1558/1559/1560) was a Spanish explorer of the New World, one of four survivors of the 1527 Narváez expedition. During eight years of traveling across the US Southwest, he became a 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.However, some critics argue against this claim and categorize him with a group of writers who had motives to present their work in a positive light for the king, who supported the expedition and could continue financial assistance for successful ventures.In 1540 Cabeza de Vaca was appointed adelantado of then present-day Argentina, where he was governor and captain general of Río de la Plata. He aimed to re-establish the settlement of Buenos Aires due to the poor administration. Cabeza de Vaca was then transported to Spain for trial in 1545. Although his sentence was eventually commuted, he never returned to the Americas. He died in Seville.