According to historian, Alan Taylor, the discovery of a new and fertile land, named “Carolina” in honor of King Charles the II, created a great buzz of excitement as well as curiosity that spread throughout England. The discovery of this seemingly abundant land in 1670 was something Taylor denotes to the West Indian planters. These […]
Thomas Newe’s Understanding of Early Carolina
Letters of Thomas Newe were written in 1682 as travelers from Barbados continued their exploration of the eastern coast of present-day America, discovering the lands and people of what would ultimately become known as the Carolinas. Thomas Newe was educated at Oxford University and composed the letters to his father, William Newe who was butler […]
“Affidavit of Four Men from the Key of Camar”
In Narratives of Early Pennsylvania, West New Jersey and Delaware, the excerpt, “Affidavit of Four Men From the Key of Calmar, 1638” describes the events of the first Swedish expedition. The authors of this excerpt served on the Key Calmar, a Dutch-built ship used for trade. Two of the men, Michell Sionssen and Peter Johanssen, […]
The Early Carolinas Through the Eyes of Edward Randolph
After reading The Narrative of Cabeza de Vaca and many slave narratives in my African American Literature class, I would almost expect all narratives to tell the story of a person’s struggles to survive, or of their discoveries in a new land or situation. However, after reading narratives from the collection, Narratives of Early Carolina: […]
Narrative Selections
These selections from the Narrative of Cabeza de Vaca were chosen to highlight the Indian tribes de Vaca met throughout his travels around the Americas. De Vaca met numerous different Indian cultures and, through his reliance on them to survive, came to see many customs that were strange to his European mind. The core of […]
excerpts from the Narrative of Cabeza de Vaca
Cabeza de Vaca’s narrative recounts his travels through the North American South from what is now Florida to Mexico. The purpose of his tail as noted in his introduction is to explain to the Spanish crown what he got out of the years spent in America. Though his mission was one of conquest, his story […]
The Exploration Narrative Abridged — Just the Basics
After looking reading the whole Relación and the Norton, Wiley and Heath editions I struggled to narrow down only five excerpts of what would be featured in my abridged version. I looked for what the Norton, Heath and Wiley had in common to guide my choice. Then decided that if I was going to keep […]
Zooming in on Cabeza de Vaca’s Unique Encounters With Various Tribal Groups
The Narrative of Cabeza de Vaca is an exploratory tale recalled by Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca himself. His story describes the long, extreme and difficult journey from the Old world into the New one. This journey in its entirety was undertaken by him and a spare number of people around him that managed to […]
Distinguishing how the Natives Thought of Women
In detailing of his extraordinary journey to the New World, Cabeza de Vaca’s gives more of an in-depth idea of ancient Native Indians. His interpersonal relationships with these primitive people allowed him to reveal a ton of unique information about the Native Americans, including their cultural traditions, religious beliefs, and/or the nuances of their society. […]
De Vaca’s Change in Ideology and Perception of the Native Americans and their Culture
The following selections from The Narrative of Cabeza de Vaca seek to show the change in ideology and perception of Native Americans in de Vaca throughout he and his party’s travels throughout the Americas. De Vaca arrives in America with more or less the ulterior motive of conquering in the name of Spain; towards the end […]
