Exploring the Rio Grande Valley During the 16th Century

By MOSTHistory Staff

Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, born about 1490 in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain, was an early explorer and considered the first historian of Texas.

Cabeza de Vaca first set foot on what is now Texas in the early 1530s, when his raft carrying survivors of the ill-fated Narváez expedition ran aground near Galveston Island. Stranded and desperate, Cabeza de Vaca and his companions, including Estebanico, a Moorish slave, encountered Natives of the region, likely including Coahuiltecans and Karankawas. Though indigenous people displayed hostility and even enslaved Cabeza de Vaca and the other castaways, they also provided food and shelter, and initiated a complex relationship that would characterize their interactions with Cabeza de Vaca.

Cabeza de Vaca learned the languages and customs of the tribes he encountered. His survival depended on this understanding, and he gained a reputation as a healer, performing rituals and medical treatments that endeared him to some native tribes. This role ensured his safety and allowed him to gain deep insights into the lives and traditions of the people he lived among, making his accounts one of the earliest ethnographic records of the indigenous tribes of South Texas.

Over eight years, historians believe Cabeza de Vaca traveled nearly 2,400 miles (about the width of present-day United States) through South Texas and Northeastern Mexico before reaching Mexico City, engaging with numerous tribes.

Cabeza de Vaca’s detailed accounts, published in 1542 as “La Relación,” emphasized the humanity and intelligence of the people he met along the Rio Grande, which he called “a great river,” and said they treated their children with great care and mildness. He also noted that these people were built for endurance. This was one of the earliest documented moments of contact between two separate worlds.

Illustrations are from the museum’s book “Borderlands: The Heritage of the Lower Rio Grande through the Art of José Císneros.” These were produced by the late José Císneros. Book was published in 1998.