Native American Captivity Narratives and the Ideals of Puritan Society

[Your Name]
[Instructor Name]
[Course Number]
[Date]
The First Explorers The narrative of Cabeza de Vaca is devoted to North America. In his account, de Vaca highlights rumors of wealth in the north of Mexico that later inspired explorers into the region keen on getting riches. Cabeza de Vaca's account is different from Bartolomé de las Casa and Gaspar Pérez de Villagrá as it offers greater detail about the native inhabitants and their way of life. In his account, de Vaca references various issues to the Americans, such as the Europeans' diseases. He says, "half the natives died from a disease of the bowels and blamed us" (De Vaca). This statement indicates that the Americans were blamed when the natives suddenly died in large numbers. When evaluating the author's trustworthiness, De Vaca is a versatile writer as he experienced and saw all the things he has highlighted in the book. The writer gives a unique account of all that happened without so much generalization. Des Casas is a bit vague in his analysis of the specific events. He says, "I saw all these things I have described, and countless others" (Des Casas). It is hard to know what the countless others are specifically. Villagra offers a rich text of historical information emphasizing his journey and encounter with the natives and their hospitality. In one instance, he says, “The natives of this pueblo came forth and gladly shared their homes with us" (Villagra). Throughout the text, he gives specific references that can only be regarded as accurate by someone who has experienced it. The three authors recognize God's power upon them in their journeys and highlight the theme of othering through the alienation of the natives. De Vaca talks about his reliance on God's providence, saying, "And caused us to thank our Lord heartily for showing us his kindness ever more fully and giving us the sure hope that he was going to free us and bring us to a place where we could serve Him"(De Vaca). Las Casas's theological insights affirmed the human dignity of the Indians. He stated that the Indians represented Christ through their sufferings, who was crucified. He says, "I leave in the Indies Jesus Christ, our God, scourged and afflicted and beaten and crucified not once, but thousands of times." He recognizes in this statement that the Indians went through suffering that can only be likened to Christ's suffering. Villagra emphasizes the mercy and the love of God. He states that upon hearing the lamentations of the Barbarians, Father Cristobal offered prayers asking God for rain. He says, "The next day at about the same hour they set up their wail, and the skies suddenly became dark…poured… torrents of rain" (Villagra). The term “barbarians” describes the natives as a form of discrimination based on their ethnicity. Each of these authors plays a part in the propaganda as a theme. Bartolomé de Las Casas is known to have freed his slaves and spoken against injustices and cruelties in the empire. Ironically, he was against slavery, yet he participated in the cruelty that impacted enslaved people. Villagra gave a narrative of the suffering of natives forgetting that he had also participated in causing atrocities to them while ...