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This episode continues the shocking story of the doomed Narváez expedition and its almost unbelievable struggle to survive. In this episode, the expedition begins to unravel in Florida, and cooks up a crazy scheme to send 250 men across the Gulf of Mexico on rafts. All of this ends up with the “discovery” of Texas! And, of course, a lot of dead Spanish.
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Selected references for this episode
Andrés Reséndez, A Land So Strange: The Epic Journey of Cabeza de Vaca
Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, The Account: Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca’s Relacion, An Annotated Translation by Martin A. Favata and Jose B. Fernandez
Alex D. Krieger, We came Naked and Barefoot: The Journey of Cabeza de Vaca Across North America
Gonzalo Fernandez Oviedo y Valdez and Harbert Davenport, “The Expedition of Pánfilo de Narváez,” The Southwestern Historical Quarterly
David Ewing Duncan, Hernando De Soto: A Savage Quest in the Americas
The route of the rafts across the Gulf (map on thehistoryoftheamericans.com):
