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| Pánfilo de Narváez |
- Narváez was born into a royal family in Valladolid, Spain in 1478, the city where Christopher Columbus died in 1506. Columbus ushered in the European Age of Discovery in 1492, when Narváez was 14-years-old.
- His royal status allowed him to begin as an officer in the military.
- As an officer, he was described as arrogant and unwilling to admit mistakes.
- He went to Jamaica in 1509 and in 1511 he led a division of the army to conquer and govern Cuba.
- In 1513 his close relative, Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar, was appointed governor of Cuba ‒ he granted Narváez land and slaves from the native population.
From the video description:
Pánfilo de Narváez landed near the Jungle Prada Site in St. Petersburg, Florida in the year 1528 with five ships, 450 men, and 42 horses. They came ashore at a Tocobaga village. Upon finding small amounts of gold and hearing about gold-bearing regions to the north from the native people, Narváez decided to part with his ships, taking 300 men and the 42 horses with him to find treasure and sending his ships north along the coast to meet them later. They never saw their ships again.
Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca was an officer on the Narváez expedition. He was one of only four conquistadors to survive from the land party. His eight year journey across America is recognized as a first for Europeans, and his story of survival a subject of great fascination. Cabeza de Vaca's story totally overshadows anything Pánfilo de Narváez ever did. That's actually the story of his career - being overshadowed by others - but Narváez was still an important figure during the Spanish exploration of the Americas, and given much power and opportunity by the crown. So what happened? Who was Pánfilo de Narváez, and why don't we know more about him? This video is part one in a three-part series about Pánfilo de Narváez. You can take a guided tour of the 1528 landing site. Visit www.DiscoverFloridaTours.com for details.
