The colonial period (1492-1832) is described as the era of the historical expansion of the Spanish royal crown, as the Spaniards invaded the Americas following the arrival of Christopher Columbus to the Caribbean in 1492, and imperial influence continued over large areas in the "New World" for more than 3 centuries and the number of the indigenous population decreased by about 80% a century and a half after Columbus' voyage, and apart from the story of extermination, limited historical accounts provide stories of friction between the new colonists and the original inhabitants of that country.
At the beginning of the 16th century, Spain attempted to invade the American region of Florida, but its campaign failed and four of the Spanish conquistadors were captured by the Indians.
This experience made them change their view of the indigenous population.
In a report published by the French newspaper "Le Temps", Isabelle Rove narrates the details of this story. In the spring of 1536, European knights encountered in the plains between the Sierra Madre and the Pacific Ocean (now northwest of Mexico) a group of American Indians who were "barefoot." They cover their bodies with animal skins.
But these Indians did not flee - as others did - but approached the Spaniards, who were surprised by one of them speaking to them fluently in their Spanish language.
Historian Andres Resendes described this encounter as the watershed that changed the relationship between the white settlers and the indigenous population, from attacking one another to cooperating.
There were, on the one hand, the Native Americans, and on the other hand, survivors of an expedition that began almost 10 years ago to the conquest of Florida, and of the approximately 300 men who left the Gulf of Mexico, only four survived: 3 Spaniards, Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, and two other nobles, and an African slave named Estebanico.
They owe it to the Indians for their survival.
"Their voyage embodies a milestone in the path of exploration and conquest, a path that could have changed the brutal conquest of America's lands and wealth by Europeans," Resendis said.
Reward for winners
The writer pointed out that the accounts of victory that described the conquests of Ernan Cortes and Francisco Pizarro overshadowed what these three Spaniards wrote, especially that history favored the victors while the Florida expedition involved a series of disasters.
Cortes was known for invading the Aztec Empire in Mexico and was famous for his cruelty to the Red Indians, while Pizarro conquered the Inca Empire and founded the city of Lima, the current capital of Peru.
The King of Spain and Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire Charles V of Spain granted the Castilian noble Panfilo de Narvaez the land of Florida, and the latter assembled about 600 men who left Seville in 1527 to explore these lands north of Mexico.
Those with him were a microcosm of society, as this group consisted of aristocrats, scholars, doctors, lawyers, clergymen, artisans, soldiers, adventurers, and even women and slaves.
The purpose of this expedition was to found a new Spain overseas and to preach Christianity, but this journey went unexpectedly and its crew faced many difficulties.
The expedition reached the edge of the Gulf of Mexico but could not locate it.
As a result, the settlers decided to split into groups and those who decided to continue the voyage ended up returning to Cuba from where they had left.
Those who took the land route left with them horses and weapons, and their aim was to reach the lands of the Spanish colonies south of the Rio Grande, without realizing that they were more than 2,500 kilometers away.
They were advancing slowly, suffering from starvation and sickle cell disease, and attacked and pillaged indigenous villages on their way.
And when supplies began to run out, the trip turned into a crazy enterprise as they had no choice but to slaughter their horses and smelt their weapons to make tools.
They believed that their firearms would ensure their supremacy over the American Indians.
Doing women's tasks
The plan to sail on their makeshift boats failed and many of them drowned, including nobleman Narvaez.
The survivors had no chance of victory against the indigenous population, who were accustomed to facing natural obstacles.
And some of the surviving invaders chose isolation for fear of facing the Native Americans and eventually turned on each other due to starvation and turned into a kind of cannibal.
In return, others tried to mingle with the natives, some of whom showed amazing hospitality and generosity, while others killed or captured the intruders.
The Spaniards were unable to fish with a bow or do anything else, so they were given women's tasks such as carrying water and wood.
They lived a Bedouin-like life, eating spiders, ant eggs, and salamanders, or filling their stomachs with pecans or oysters.
A drawing representing the arrival of Christopher Columbus to the American island of San Salvador in 1492 (Getty Images)
Since these captives were Catholics, they considered what happened to them to be a kind of sacrifice that would eventually give them salvation.
And they were practicing religious rituals that the Native Americans found charming, and they were called "sons of the sun" and they appreciated and attributed to them supernatural abilities.
Giving gifts
These Spaniards believed in their own strength and considered it a divine sign, and they continued their march seeking to join the other Europeans.
But this time they were accompanied by a crowd of those who fed them, protected them, and showered them with gifts.
During the voyage, they veered along the Gulf of Mexico towards the north and the Sierra Madre.
When the four men finally reached the Pacific coast in early 1536, they had miraculously escaped death and had traveled thousands of miles on foot, establishing relationships with the indigenous people that influenced them greatly.
They arrived in the lands colonized by the Spanish colonial official Nuno de Guzmán, and they promised their followers that they would "prevent their own citizens from killing or enslaving the natives", but we know that did not happen.
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Their return to the Spanish lands was bitter, they thought they would be received warmly and be able to establish a society based on "cooperation", but they were separated from their experience with the Indians and became mere pawns in the game of power.
The African slave Estebanico, who played an important role in consolidating relations with the indigenous population, was killed by the Indians during unsuccessful negotiations.