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Biography of Pánfilo de NarváezName: Pánfilo de NarváezBirth Date: c. 1478 Death Date: 1528 Place of Birth: Valladolid, Spain Nationality: Spanish Gender: Male Occupations: soldier, explorer Pánfilo de Narváez The Spanish soldier and explorer Pánfilo de Narváez (ca. 1478-1528) participated in the conquests of Jamaica and Cuba and led an ill-fated expedition to colonize Florida.Pánfilo de Narváez was born in Valladolid. Seeking his fortune as a soldier, he migrated to the island of Hispaniola (modern Dominican Republic and Haiti). In 1509 he accompanied Juan de Esquirel in the conquest of Jamaica. Two years later, as a commander of 30 crossbowmen, he joined Diego de Velázquez in the conquest of Cuba.The tall, red-bearded Narváez, with a resonant voice "as if it came from a cave," emerged from the conquest with a reputation of being "brave against Indians." But as a commander of expeditions, he was both blundering and unlucky. His misfortunes began when Governor Velázquez appointed him in 1520 to lead an expedition to Mexico, where he was …showed first 150 words…
…showed last 150 words…remained aboard, out to sea. They were never heard from again.Of the original company, only four survived. Led by Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, they began their epic 8-year journey across the southwestern United States, southward into Mexico, reaching Mexico City in 1536. Further Reading The most detailed and reliable account of Narváez's career is in Woodbury Lowery, The Spanish Settlements within the Present Limits of the United States, 1513-1561 (1901). Other useful works which refer to his career are William H. Prescott's classic History of the Conquest of Mexico (1873; rev. ed. 1879); Bernal Diaz del Castillo, The True Story of the Conquest of New Spain (trans. 1916); Herbert E. Bolton, The Spanish Borderlands: A Chronicle of Old Florida and the Southwest (1921); and Cleve Hallenbeck, Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca: The Journey and Route of the First European to Cross the Continent of North America (1940). |