In the year 1527 CE, Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca and 600 hundred Conquistadors set sail from the shores of Cuba. Their mission, known as the Narvaez expedition, was to colonize the Gulf coast area of modern Florida. However, the well-known Spanish lust for gold seized the crew and upon reaching the shores of their believed destination, the navigators realized they were not positive where they actually were. The expedition’s treasurer Cabeza de Vaca argued that because they were unsure of their exact location only small landing parties should go ashore.
Fate of the Narváez expedition
While de Vaca’s argument was logically sound, it fell on deaf ears as the entire 600 men took what supplies they could carry and immediately went inland to search for gold. Within days the hopelessly lost crew realized their fatal mistake. Not only were they quickly running low on supplies, but their ever increasing encounters with hostile natives meant they were being stalked. Despondent but not without hope and believing Mexico was not far west, the crew decided to walk back. Eight years and several thousand miles later, Cabeza de Vaca and three others arrived in Mexico.
