Narváez as a man of destiny?

Conquistador Pánfilo de Narváez

In my novel, the history professor McLean says about his favorite conquistador Pánfilo de Narváez: Depending on the circumstances, he might come off as a hero or a villain, a glowing success or a disgraceful failure. But always playing the role of the bold conquistador. He seemed to live entirely in the present, not reflecting on his past mistakes or planning to avoid future ones. He would never fail gradually or thoughtfully. I think he was always destined to blunder fatally and take his followers down with him. In short, Narváez was Hollywood-like character, larger than life and admirable in some ways, but not the best manager of his own life. Here's a fair sketch of him by four contemporaries who knew him well.

Bernal Díaz del Castillo (conquistador and officer of Hernán Cortés): Narváez was in appearance about forty-two years of age, tall, very muscular, of full face, and he had a red beard. He reasoned well, and his presence was agreeable; he was leisurely in discourse, with a voice of great volume, like that of one speaking in a vault. He rode well, and was reputed to be courageous. He had been a captain in Cuba, was wealthy, and was said to be penurious.

Bishop of Chiapas in New Spain (Mexico): This Pánfilo de Narváez was a man of commanding person, tall of stature, complexion fair, inclining to be red, honest, of good judgment, though not very discreet, agreeable in conversation, with pleasing address, brave against Indians, and probably would have been against other people, had ever occasion offered for fighting them; but over every fault he had, was that of being very careless.

Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés (New World historian): I well believe that the advice I gave to Pánfilo in Toledo occurred to him many times. In truth, I have often marveled, and even been angered at these captains, seeing that for the one part they are able, skillful and valiant men, while for the other, although they have seen other leaders fail, in whose failure they should take warning, they never fear, nor warn others of danger. Would to God that those who thus suffer affliction paid with their lives only, without their souls receiving detriment! But I much doubt their salvation, because I have lived so long in these Indies that I have seen that they are actuated, for the most part, by this accursed greed, which thrusts aside, for gain, all the scruples their consciences would otherwise respect.

Bartolomé de las Casas (Dominican friar and advocate for indigenous rights): The careless Narváez was always watching murders being done [in Cuba], without saying nor doing anything, nor moving any more than if he had been made of marble, because if he had wanted to, being on horseback, and with a lance in his hand, he could have hindered the Spaniards so that they would not have killed ten people.

Connecting 1528 and 1981

When I began writing Alien Coast four years ago, some events of 1981 best suited the plot of this historical novel, which harkens back to an event nearly five centuries ago. And today, the happenings of 1981 feel more like current events. Then, as now, a new right-wing president promised a golden age and a minimalist government. Both elderly men were victims of assassination attempts. Both had/have an unshakeable belief in their power to overcome any obstacle. Then, as now, Russia and China threatened us, and the War on Drugs was a national priority, and so forth. Of course, you can always find parallels between any two historical periods. That’s partly because we humans tend to repeat our mistakes over and over, our valuable lessons often unlearned. Sadly, the flaws in human nature have not changed. But neither have the redeeming qualities of our nature. And that is what this story and countless others are about. The lessons are always there to be learned.

A Spanish entrada of the 1500s

Cherry picking from History

Tidal marsh at St. Marks, FL, looking south toward the Gulf of Mexico.

A novelist might wrap his/her story around some period and character in history for very personal reasons. For Alien Coast, I chose the time and person of a lesser-known and flawed Spanish conquistador. I wanted his failures to be the back story for a tale about an international conspiracy. As a teenager growing up on the bay in Panama City, FL, I stumbled on a treatise about then current knowledge of the Gulf of Mexico. The first chapter was a history of its "discovery" by Europeans in the 16th century. The first Spanish expedition to western Florida and the northern Gulf Coast, led by a mercurial guy, Pánfilo de Narváez, and part of their journey passed along the Gulf beaches near my house. I could picture those five boats full of ragged men rowing along just offshore. Over the years, I read the personal account of that expedition written by a survivor, Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca. It’s a simple but gripping story of discovery, danger, hardship, endurance, and ultimate disaster. And it’s a key episode in our national history that happened nearly five centuries ago in 1528. I wanted to shine some new light on it one way or another, and especially now that we’re nearing the expedition's 500th anniversary.