Texas Documents, Part I: Cabeza De Vaca

A shipwreck on a hostile shore. A handful of survivors. And a narrative that forced an empire to look again. We kick off a new series through the eyes of Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, the first European to leave a detailed account of life among indigenous peoples along the Texas Gulf Coast. This conversation isn’t about polishing heroes or condemning villains; it’s about evidence. We trace how a survivor’s testimony pushed some Spaniards toward empathy and accommodation without erasing conquest...