In the novel, “A Land So Strange,” the topic of family and marriage is vaguely mentioned. When the theme does come up though, it shed lights on what family and marriage was like not only for the Spaniards but for Native Americans as well. The author Andres Resendez offers a helpful translation of Cabeza de Vaca’s accounts with different marriages and families in his culture as well as the new world’s.

On page 74, the text states, “Vazquez de Ayllon…had one or more illegitimate children and quite possibly kept a neighbor’s wife in his house as a concubine.” Vasquez de Ayllon was another conquistador during this time period. It’s clear to see that Ayllon did not respect his wife or their marriage and used women for his sexual pleasure. This example portrays a Spaniards relationship and marital life in Spain during the sixteenth century. Although this may not have been what every relationship was like in Spain it can only be assumed due to Vazquez’s high status and power that most men in these positions also followed this lifestyle.

In contrast, some marriage’s such as Navares’s and his wife’s may have actually been filled with love and care. When Navarez goes missing, his wife sends a whole search party (who actually betray and lie to her) for him and would quite possibly have searched for him herself if she were allowed to. This inspiring woman goes through many measures to try and find her husband but to no prevail. Navaraz’s wife is an example of a loving marriage in which a wife truly cared for her husband.

Marriage and Family is not only discussed in the old world, but in the new world as well. Page 162 of a Land So Strange shows Cabeza’s account of the Native men’s view on family and specifically women. “The Mariames’ (an Indian tribe)  disdain for women extended even to their own baby girls, who were often left outside and allowed to be eaten by dogs. The Mariames engaged in female infanticide to deny potential wives to the surrounding (enemy) groups.” This describes a dark custom made by an Indian tribe in which babies (specifically girls) are killed or left to die to ensure that they will not marry another man from an enemies tribe. This depiction is very different from the Old World’s treatment of women and children versus the New World’s.

Since the theme of Family and Marriage is hardly brought up throughout the novel it seems as if it is an afterthought and the focus lies solely on the men. This clearly pushes aside women, family, and marriage, to a minor issue in the men’s lives and journey. Although it is not explicitly states by Resendez, it can be inferred through many examples that women were taken advantage of in both societies.

In A Land So Strange, written by Andrés Reséndez, the topic of family and marriage is not one that is highly elaborated on. In fact, the topic of women, children and family lifestyles is not mentioned until Chapter three and is not discussed in detail until after that. I think Reséndez’s lack of discussion about and involvement of women and the family unit says a lot about how family and marriage were thought about during the time period and specifically on the expedition. As the book and expedition progress, the idea and theme of family and marriage feels almost as an after thought, as if the concept is placed on the back burner while the highlights of the men’s expedition are in the spotlight. Though women and families are not shown as being the most significant aspects in the novel, each of the few4 times that the theme was brought up, it was depicted differently. The first mention of a woman was the “neighbor’s wife in [Vázquez de Ayllón’s] house as a concubine” (74). This implies that women were objects to be kept for sexual pleasures, an idea that was popular through out the time period. The second mention of women portrays them as being fickle at the heart and not truly valuing the ideals of marriage that we hold ourselves to today. Reséndez shows that the wives could not show commitment to their husbands as they explored the lands of the New World; instead the wives of the men opted to “give up on their land-bound husbands and even urged [themselves] to seek protection immediately among the crew members, who would reman on the ships with them” (89). These are ideals that we do not stand by today; in today’s society, we practice long marriage and sticking with the same partner through sickness and health. Reséndez’s depiction of the Mariame families is much different than the European family depiction. These households treat women and mothers like slaves, and daughters as burdens that should be sacrificed for the well being the family (162).

Today in most texts, Native Americans during colonial times are often either described as savages or innocent defenseless creatures who get slaughtered by the evil colonizers. In “A Land so Strange”, Résendez seems to argue that neither of these binaries accurately represents the native peoples through his analyses of the topic of hospitality of the native tribes. At first, De Vaca and his companions have very little contact with the natives. Sometimes the contact is positive and the natives exhibit lots of respect for the Spaniards, showing them nothing but hospitality. During other encounters the natives show no hospitality and openly attack the Spaniards. Later on in the novel, De Vaca joins a few different native tribes that exhibit varying levels of hospitality. It was also interesting that arguably the most hospitable tribe quickly became the least hospitable tribe. Through Résendez’s narration, the reader learns the motives behind the Native’s actions. Often the hospitable tribes had never seen white men before and had plenty to share while often the violent tribes had less to share or had had some form of contact with white men in the past. This narration shows the reader that “the natives” neither exhibited lots of hospitality toward the Spaniards nor none at all because you can’t speak about “the natives” as a cohesive group, it is different for different tribes.

While it is not directly stated, Résendez summarizes multiple encounters with native peoples that give the Spaniards a closer look at native cultures and compares those cultures to the Spaniards cultures. Through this comparison of cultures we learn that while the native cultures were very different from the Spanish culture, some similarities existed. The most important example of a similarity between the native culture and the Spanish culture is slavery. Social hierarchies existed in native cultures and those hierarchies varied from clan to clan but no matter what culture you look at, slaves were at the bottom of the social pyramid.

Though I concede that native cultures had their faults and that some native clans were very aggressive towards the Spaniards, I still insist that the fault always lay with Spaniards. The Spaniards came into a new land that they knew nothing about where other people had been living for thousands of years, declared that the land was theirs and that all of the native inhabitants were savages and lesser beings. I think that to an extent Résendez acknowledged this, but his descriptions of aggression of native tribes almost seemed to justify the actions of the colonizers which I do not condone.

A Land So Strange is a novel about the arduous journey that a band of Spanish colonists undergo in an effort to explore Florida and other parts of the New World. However, it cannot so simply be defined as a journey. Andrés Reséndez proves that it is a expedition filled with continuous misfortune, disastrous hardship, and harsh conditions. Initiated by Naraváez, the men pass through several foreign areas with different goals manifesting as they adventure. First and foremost, they do their best to survive through many environmental settings, such as hurricanes, powerful currents, swampy grounds, and frigid winters. Acquiring food and drink in an effort to resist starvation and dehydration are two other important goals for the debilitated men. Additionally, the natives serve to be a huge hindrance for the Spanish colonists as they try to locate their desired landmarks which are much farther than the colonists assume. However, the men have unwavering determination to both survive and colonize.

As it can be seen, environment plays a huge role in the narrative and could almost be described as a character in itself. Reséndez’s illustrative portrayal of the harsh conditions the colonists face is extremely useful because it sheds light on the disease-ridden and fatiguing circumstances the colonists undergo. I do not gain a sense of any exaggeration from Reséndez when describing the awful conditions and the causes for why the men die off. It paints a perfect picture of an imperfect situation where a constant struggle for survival is an inescapable reality. Description of the severe environmental conditions allows the reader to gain a sense of understanding of the explorers’ emotions, morale, and state of health. Further, the brutal conditions are very significant throughout the text because it shows the mens’ strength in spirit. As they are Christian, Cabeza de Vaca explains that it must be God who is allowing them to survive through such tropical storms and cold temperatures. In this case, the environment almost acts as both a deterrent that leads the colonists to failure and a motivating factor that enables the men to persist.

In the book “a land so strange”, the writer Reséndez recounts the story of the last and only four survivors meeting with the native Americans and being enslaved by those natives after they are found out to be useless in certain ways. As soon as those who took the expedition hit by the hurricane and being hurled onto the beach, the native Indian found them and treated them with effort and even gave whatever they need. Despite some of the ventures being skeptical about the kindness of the Indian, the majority people followed. Unfortunately, they were found to be useless to the Indians. The reason that the Indian acted kindly to them, in my opinion, is because of fact that they thought, with the armory of those explorers and the people, the natives could take advantage of them and eventually survive some harsh winter situations. Several years later, after being slaved for a great deal of time, Cabeza de Vaca, with the miracle, become the trader between the tribes when in the times of war. His experience as the accounting personnel before helped him to be the best option for the job. Coincidentally, this endows them a chance for the future reunion. Indeed, they succeeded in reunion and, fortunately, enjoyed a  time of free men and authority.

I agree that even in the time of 600 years ago, people started to have the idea that there should be a person who should does a job of selling, exchanging and trading between individuals, groups, and tribes when in the times of war. Cabeza de Vaca, as a trader, enjoyed being freeman and people’s respect that he couldn’t possibly have when he was being enslaved by the native Indians. This scenario reminds of the high demand of the trader in the present world. Being more globalized the world means the increase in the exchange of goods. That is why people all over the world are studying business and economics and hopefully, they could eventually become the traders. Those who choose to study the business in college not only because of the money but also because of the feeling of higher authority over others and great self-governing ability. In addition, I especially like those four survivors explaining everything based on the belief as a Christian. When they are hit by the hurricane, they considered it as God’s will. Then, when those four survivors finally gained their identities as free men, they thanked God and thought it the God’s will. I am wondered to see how the religion rooted into people’s minds. And I could tell the extent they respect their religion. However, when we looked into the context of that time, we can see the reason why. The experience of being a trader is quite interesting, and it indeed shows people what is like to do the business in 15th century.

Within the book “A Land So Strange” Cabeza de Vaca is faced with many opportunities to decide the fate of himself and his fellow Spaniards while stranded on the island known to them as Malhado, the “Isle of Ill Fate”. While on this small island, he was encountered by some of the natives who witnessed their condition of obvious starvation and lack of clothing due to a failed attempt to get their raft unstuck from the sand. The natives decided to give them food in exchange for labor, slave like labor that included some of the slave treatments like beatings if they didn’t do the job right.  Cabeza de Vaca had a choice to stay and be a slave to stay alive or leave and put his team in danger as they would most likely die in the wilderness trying to navigate their way to Panuco.

The chain of events that followed are the result of staying alive through the natives. He was able to survive and become apart of different tribes of Indians and eventually landed the opportunity to become a merchant to the Charrucos tribe, him access to be mobile and not be in danger of being beaten to death by a native. this gave him an opportunity to leave and head west to try and find Panuco and the others that left before him. If it wasn’t for his choice to stay with the natives in the beginning he would not be alive to get to the point where he would meet up with Castillo, Estabanico and Dorantes. Had Cabeza de Vaca not decided to stay and endure the 6 years of slavery, he most likely would not have survived and the others never get to their intended destination.

At the very beginning of chapter 6, Résendez describes Cabeza de Vaca’s failed attempt to escape and island inhabited by Indians. Cabeza de Vaca and his men are caught off guard by the large waves of this region since waves of such monumental size and force are foreign to Europe, specifically Spain. In addition, those who survive the treacherous waves fight the effects of hypothermia. Given that it was the middle of summer in Florida, this would not normally be a problem. However, when Résendez points out that the earth was undergoing a unique period of cooling, specifically harsh during the years of Narvaez’s expedition, this supports thesis of increased level of challenge to Narvaez and his men, due to change in environmental conditions. Had there been normal environmental conditions during this time, the water would have felt refreshing rather than dangerously cold, especially when compared to the well-known hot summertime air in Florida.

Cabeza de Vaca is surely right about surrendering to the Indians because, there are too many dangers regarding lack of food and undernourishment. These problems are detrimental to his crews health. This was made worse buy the crewing falling into call water, leaving them susceptible to hypothermia.

A Land So Strange: The Epic Journey of Cabeza de Vaca, by Andres Resendez. tells the story of  a mission set out from Spain to colonize Florida. The expedition went ominously wrong: Shipwrecked by a hurricane, knocked off course by a colossal error of navigation, and eventually doomed by the decision to separate the men from their ships, the mission quickly became a desperate journey of survival.  Throughout this journey, Andres Resendez describes the challenges that Cabeza de Vaca and his party faced, their interactions with the native people, the hurricane, their challenges with navigation, and their quest to spread Roman catholicism across the New World.

The general opinion is that the central theme this book explores is the history that unfolds in the meeting of these two cultures. While the interactions between Cabeza de Vaca’s group and the native people, and their eventual enslavement, captivity, and eventual freedom are fascinating, the effect Cabeza’s time in enslavement have a very interesting effect on Cabeza. While I agree that the Spanish party venturing into The New World does so engaging into conflict with the native people, Cabeza de Vaca returns to Spain to be a proponent of the importance of peaceful interaction and contact as a policy for encounters of the Spanish with native peoples. His arduous journey alters his perception of the native people and allows him to help influence war and combat with native peoples towards a more peaceful direction.

While they engaged in conflict with the Indian populations they encountered, who bore inferior and unfamiliar weapons ( bows and arrows) to theirs, and unfamiliar methods of warfare too, and lost many men to these conflicts, it is important to understand and focus on the longer term evolution of this conflict and its progression into enslavement, and finally integration as healers. Cabeza de Vaca and the three surviving members of his party survive these conflicts and Cabeza comes to influence a pacifist approach to the Spanish interaction with these native people.

In A Land So Strange by Andréz Reséndez he re-accounts the journey of Cabeza de Vaca and his fellow survivors. Cabeza de Vaca and his friends had many trying experiences including being slaves for six years. After six years the men escape and end up becoming healers. The men do not choose to be healers but instead one of their owners made them blow on a sick Native American and because Cabeza de Vaca and his friends are Catholic they made the sign of the cross and prayed. Strangely the Native American lived and Cabeza de Vaca and his friends got a reputation of being faith healers. Reséndez explains that in the 16^th century in Spain miracles were not an unheard-of thing, so the survivors believed that they were merely the instrument and that God was healing the Native Americans. Reséndez also states that in today’s age one would try and explain the miracles through science. I agree with Reséndez that the survivors believed that God was helping them and I think that is ultimately became their biggest strengths.

In the 1500s religion was very important to people so this is how Cabeza de Vaca and his friends rationalized their survival. As Reséndez explains Cabeza de Vaca believes God was testing him and it was no mere coincidence that he lived while 296 other people that were with him died. It is logical that Cabeza de Vaca would believe there was some greater purpose for his survival and it wasn’t mere luck. Cabeza de Vaca and his friends’ belief in a higher power helped them cope with the harsh world and unfortunate circumstances they suddenly found themselves in. Without their belief in God they most likely would never have agreed to become healers, because they had no justification to their healing, and would not risk blowing on someone with the hope that they would get better. Without a belief in God they most likely would have given up and died.