Relación de los naufragios y comentarios, Volume 5

What it is

This is volume 5 of a Spanish edition of the Relación de los naufragios y comentarios, the written account by Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca describing his shipwrecks and journeys. This volume includes additional unpublished documents, with subjects covering Pánfilo de Narváez, Native peoples of North America, Spanish exploration, and Argentina's early history.

Why it matters

This is part of Cabeza de Vaca's own record of his extraordinary survival after shipwreck and his later role in South America. It is a primary source: his own words about events he lived through, later published and expanded with related documents.

Look closer

• Why might a later edition of someone's writing include extra, unpublished documents?
• What does the library label on the cover tell you about where this book has travelled and been kept?
• Why is it important that this account comes from Cabeza de Vaca himself rather than someone writing about him?