Read this narrative of Cabeza de Vaca's journeys through the southern regions of what would become the United States. What were the motivations of these Spaniards in undertaking this journey? Did they all share the same motivations? How would you describe the relationships among this group of explorers? How would you characterize their treatment of the indigenous people they met on this journey? How did the indigenous people receive them? Based on this document, do you perceive these men as heroic? Alternatively, do the implications of the Black Legend seem appropriate in this case? Why might historians find this document troublesome as a source of evidence? How might an investigator overcome such problems?

http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/resources/archives/one/cabeza.htm

Now read the second document. According to this author, what do historians hope to learn from records of native testimony? How might their findings alter our understanding of the Pueblo Revolt and other elements of the Spanish occupation of New Mexico? Why are these scholars particularly concerned with the language of the natives? What do they believe this language can tell us about the culture that grew out of the interactions between the Spanish and the natives?

http://www.neh.gov/news/humanities/2002-11/pueblorevolt.html