Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca (c.1490-c.1559) was an early Spanish explorer of the New World and remembered as a protoanthropological author.

An officer in the notorious Narváez expedition, he was one of four survivors of shipwreck and other disasters around the Caribbean. Traveling mostly in this small group, he explored what is now Texas, western, and central Mexico, walking on foot from about Galveston to Mexico City over about six years.

During his travels he developed sympathies for the indigenous population unusual among the conquistadors. Eventually he made contact with other Spaniards and returned to Europe, where he wrote about his experiences in a work called La relación (the tale). A major motivation for the 1542 publication of this work was Cabeza de Vaca's desire to succeed Narváez as governor of Florida.

Instead, in 1540 he was appointed governor of La Plata, what is now Argentina and surroundings. Political intrigue against him caused his arrest and return to Spain in chains, circa 1545. He was eventually exonerated and wrote another book, Comentarios (commentary) about this experience.

External links

• PBS website for Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca
• Cabeza de Vaca's Journey to the Southwest
• Cabeza de Vaca's La Relación contains hi-res photography of the 1555 edition of la Relación.