Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca

Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca (born c. 1490, Extremadura, Castile [now in Spain]—died c. 1560, Sevilla, Spain) was a Spanish explorer who spent eight years in the Gulf region of present-day Texas. Núñez was treasurer to the Spanish expedition under Pánfilo de Narváez that reached what is now Tampa Bay, Florida, in 1528. By September all but his party of 60 had perished; it reached the shore near present-day Galveston, Texas. Of this group only...