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Similarities Between Cabeza De Vaca And Martin Luther King Jr

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Martin Luther King Jr has very specific views on the role and purpose of religious authoritative figures on their people and how the inner man of these religious figures is supposed to behave. On the other hand, Cabeza De Vaca has own views and ideals for these figures and he exposes these views quite clearly in the Chronicle of the Narvaez Expedition where he describes his growing religious authority over the indians. Martin Luther would disagree with Cabeza De Vaca’s practices and views of religious authority because Cabeza De Vaca’s works acted towards the native indians are committed for selfish reasons and not for the faithfulness in God due to the fact that Cabeza De Vaca’s inner man is corrupted. Due the fact that Martin Luther feels …show more content…

For example, when Vaca was with the People of the Figs, he was asked to help them with their daily tasks but he would look forward to doing one specific task, scraping skins and tanning them. He looked forward to this task because he would gain food from it. This shows that Cabeza De Vaca is religiously weak internally as his faithfulness in God is lacking. As a good Christian, Vaca should want to perform all tasks he is assigned as a good Christian is a “dutiful servant to all”(FoTC 1). In doing this, Vaca would become a servant of God and thus a good religious figure in Luther’s eyes. However since he is doing the opposite, he is misusing his religious status that grants him many opportunities, such as this task, that he uses for his own personal gain instead of for bettering of everyone …show more content…

That without these selfish acts, he would no longer be able to be a dutiful servant to all nor a free lord to all in an appropriate manner because he wouldn’t have survived the struggles that the land presented. This is where faith plays a big role in Cabeza De Vaca’s actions and where it shows that he lacks in faith in God. Frankly enough, this is where Martin Luther argues greatly and tries hard to convey the message that faith in God is all a good Christian needs to live a good life. Since he Cabeza De Vaca decides to act in an inappropriate manner in Luther’s eyes, he is showing that he doesn’t believe that God will save him and his people from damnation. He believes that in order to survive, he needs to take matters into his own hands and take what he needs from the Indians and then repay them with deceiving good works so that they continue to follow him whereever it is he goes. Not only that, but when his followers decided to start raiding the new found towns and villages in order to give the treasures to Cabeza De Vaca, Vaca as a religious leader, should have stepped in and stopped them from committing those acts as those are corrupted acts in the eye’s of God since those people are considered his neighbors. However, Cabeza De Vaca did not step in to stop them because he feared that if he

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La Relacion Argumentation Cabeza de Vaca always took what was best for his men into consideration before he made a decision. He always thought about his choices and he is a good leader for that reason. Although, he made some bad decisions like sending one of his men to scout out the island alone his intentions were good. In the end this decision led to the colonist meeting the Native Americans, who help the colonist survive. Cabeza de Vaca’s good choices often outweighed the bad ones.

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After reading the Chronicle of the Narvaez Expedition, one learns from Alvar Nunez Cabeza De Vaca that their expedition failed and their only hope was to worship their faith in God and all of his powers. Mary Rowlandson describes a poor part of her life in the book Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson. She explains to the reader about her time being captive and how her attitude and outlook changed during that time. In the book Chronicle of the Narvaez Expedition, Alvar Nunez Cabeza Vaca explains his journey as being the first Spanish explorer who travels across North America.

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Cabeza De Vaca survived because of his respect for the indians. “Cabeza De Vaca had suffered many disputes. For example, the spaniards who were looking to enslave indians ,and Cabeza was not on good terms with the spaniards because he wanted help the indians, but the spaniards told the indians he wanted to do the complete opposite. ”(Document D

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Cabeza de Vaca attitude towards the new world was that of suffering and starvation. During his travels, he ate very little, mostly deer-tallow and at one point powdered straw. They did not eat during the day and ate very little at night. Cabeza de Vaca and his men grew very tired and hungry, but could not let the Native Americans see this suffering because they were upholding their authority over them. Cabeza de Vaca’s description of the terrain in some parts differed greatly from that of Columbus in that Columbus stated that the terrain he saw was rich lush lands with warm air and year round green

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After years of little progress, in 1520 Charles V granted a hearing for Las Casas’s crusade. During this hearing, Las Casas argued that the time for military conquest had passed and now was the time for peace. Despite Charles V ruling in favor of Las Casas, very little could be done for the natives due to distance. Although, Bartolome de Las Casas did not set out to become an activist, intending only to settle land and preach the gospel, his faith lead him to see that true Christians did not act the way the Spanish Conquistadors did and that something must be done to right the wronged.

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711 Words | 3 Pages

This was not a good idea and failed. While he had good intentions, if he had been less religiously oriented in that situation the outcome would have been

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Moreover, in 1537, another Spanish explorer known as Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca, wrote a book titled La Relación, where he explained the obstacles him and his crew had to face during the Narvaez expedition in 1527 to the Spanish King, Charles I. In connection to all the men who sailed “from Cuba to Tampa Bay in present-day Florida” only “Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca and three other men survived the expedition, but only after enduring a nine-year, six-hundred-mile trek across Texas and Mexico and enslavement by Indians…….” In my opinion, this letter gives the reader a much clearer understanding of the things that Cabeza de Vaca saw during his journey because he writes his letters using words like “my”, “I”, and “me” which makes it clear to us

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Bartalome de Las Casas believed that the natives were an innocent people and that they did not deserve cruel treatment. He believed that their souls could be saved if only the spanish were to treat them better. Las Casas wrote “The Exploitation of Indigenous Peoples” to show the spaniards who were abusing said natives that torturing the indigenous was outdated and would not lead them anywhere, as it is not how god intended that they be converted. “The natives are capable of Morality or Goodness and very apt to receive the principles of catholic religion; nor are they averse to Civility and good Manners…” He claims, trying to explain that natives were ready to be converted if shown kindness.

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He continues to list things the natives of the New World do not allegedly have: literacy, recorded history, and definite laws; all things that seem so simple and arbitrary to the people of Spain. His logical argument is, “what temperance or mercy can you expect from men who are committed to all types of intemperance and base frivolity,” (3) or more simply, how can you expect these people, incapable of developing the basic parts of society, to lead themselves? The intended purpose is to persuade the audience, the Spanish, that the natives need leadership, and are much too lost to find it themselves. Near the end of the passage, Sepulveda says, “If this type of...nation had not been to their liking and nature, it would have been easy for them to...obtain a freer state and one more favorable to their interests.” (4), going on to imply that since they hadn't done that, they were opening themselves up for outside leadership and admitting that they themselves were not ready to

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Many European explorers wanted to become wealthier in their travels. This is shown in Letter of Christopher Columbus to Luis de Sant Angel, where the text states, “I can give them as much gold, spices, cotton, and as many Indian slaves as they choose to send for.” Christopher Columbus is requesting that King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella fund his journey. He promises to make them rich in return. This demonstrates how explorers, like Columbus, were seeking gold and other treasures when they began exploring.

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1560 Words | 7 Pages

Machiavelli and Luther: An Examination of Authority in the 16th Century Written in 1513 Florence, Niccolò Machiavelli’s The Prince aims to serve an educational purpose, enlightening those in power on ways to secure authority and hold onto it. Separating ethics from the acquisition of power, Machiavelli essentially lays forth a guide to achieving and maintaining ruler status with emphasis on sustaining an adequate military force and establishing a rapport with the populace. In 1520 Saxony, Martin Luther wrote the treatise “Concerning Governmental Authority” not to educate, but rather to explore the role of earthly authority and punishment in a Christian context.

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Las Casas was a historian who later became a Bishop. He believed that the Indians shouldn't just be conquered but should have a chance of fighting the Europeans first. He traveled to North America in 1550. When Las Casas first came to the New World, he noticed that even though the Indians lacked art and writing, they had the the capacity to rule(pg.9). The Indians had kingdoms, cities and communities that were governed well and wisely because they followed the laws and customs of the Indians(pg.9).

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(Merriam and Webster Dictionary.) Luther challenged existing religious conditions and institutions by presenting evidence from the scripture that proved that the papacy had no control over a man’s grace, and therefore indulgences were

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He believed that the way the Indians were treated by Christians was wrong, unjust, and contrary to their beliefs. “This unjust thing, this cruelty without precedent, being seen by the Indians perpetrated upon so many guiltless innocents…” (p. 32). De Las Casas expressed his disapproval of the Spaniards treatment of the Indians. He believed it was wrong of them to act in such a way to the innocent and naïve

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