Cabeza De Vaca Persuasive Essay

Do you pray before every meal? Do you ever wonder why you pray before every meal? Well if you didn’t know, you pray before every meal because you show God that you’re thankful for the food you eat everyday. Spanish explorer Cabeza de Vaca prayed before every meal, but he didn’t always have good food to eat. Infact, most of the things he had weren’t very good at all. Here’s some brief background of whom Cabeza de Vaca is. Cabeza de Vaca was a Spanish soldier, but he was also on an expedition to the New World for Spain. Things didn’t go too well for him, as his ship wrecked in Tampa (they were supposed to be in present day Texas). The captain ordered 5 groups of 10 people to go on a raft. In a year of sailing Cabeza and 3 other people were only left. Overnight, Cabeza was separated from the other 3, and washed up on an island he
Cabeza learned 4 languages, including Charuccos, plus sign language from 1530-1535. He also learned more languages with every new tribe he met. And, he was trusted more if he could speak the tribe’s language (Doc B). This helped Cabeza by allowing him to speak to and negotiate with other tribes, and to gain trust. Also, he could write translations back to Spain for new explorers to read and learn the languages.

The final thing that I think helped Cabeza survive was his wilderness skills. He lit a branch in the dying flames to keep warm. Each night, he got in a hole that he made as a shelter. Also, he knew what to eat and what not to eat (Doc B). If Cabeza didn’t know how to make a shelter, he probably would have died of being too cold, too exposed to the elements, and died of food poisoning.

The three most significant things that helped Cabeza de Vaca survive were: Wilderness skills, him being a surgeon/doctor, and being able to learn other languages. Sure, he had some hard times, but he still achieved his goal, (to get to New Spain alive) and that’s all that