Which book was more memorable, Cabeza de Vaca’s or Las Casas’s? Cabeza de Vaca’s book is Adventures in the Unknown Interior of America. If you have time to, then read my other essays that I put a link to and skip this paragraph, but if you don’t then read this very short overview of his book. 49 years after Columbus found America 400 Spaniards and 80 horses set sail to go there. The ships were hit by a few storm and landed at a Florida bay. The governor was on one of these ships. The governor wanted to go inland and Cabeza de Vaca said no, but his idea was overthrown. While they were going they were attacked by Indian tribes, A third of them got sick, then they reached a river. They build small boats there to get inland faster. Down the river they found Indians to trade with. Soon they reached the Mississippi river, but they couldn’t get across because of the current. The governors boat was separated from the group and others sank. Cabeza’s ship capsized when they reached an island, so they went home with a group of Indians that found them. A lot of Spaniards died from cold and when they reached the tribe a lot of Indians died from the Spaniards diseases. They blamed the Spaniards and killed some of them. A different tribe helped them escape and there they healed people. The Spaniards started healing people from different tribes as they kept going. At one tribe they found a man who had a Spaniard belt buckle. They asked him where he got it and he said that he took it from a Spaniard who killed two Indians. Cabeza went to the place where the Spaniards where they wee enslaving Indians and convinced them to stop. They went to Mexico to get a ship to go back to Spain and only 4 out of all of them survived. That is the very brief overview of the story. 

Now for Las Casa’s book A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies. This is more of an account of the horrific things that happened in the New World. Things like murdering Indians, enslaving them, taking them to Europe to serve as slaves, and much other horrific thing like this. It was the summary of all the thing happening in the New World. That may not sound horrific to you, but imagine that it was your family that was being enslaved. 

Which book was more memorable, Cabeza de Vaca’s or Las Casas’s? I think that Cabeza de Vaca’s book was memorable. I enjoy survival more than torture.