Abstract

SANCHEZ, Ramón. Discourse Map and Empire Building in Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca's 1542 La Relación. Estud. hist. novohisp [online]. 2012, n.46, pp.23-45. ISSN 2448-6922.

Cabeza de Vaca's 1542 narrative contains no map; however, in his effort to describe the American territory in the process of being conquered, the author ends up creating a "discourse map" in which the indigenous landscape is articulated in the ideological patterns of the Spanish Empire. In this study, I examine the ideological struggle between the indigenous and Spanish symbolic worlds through an analysis of four sites which Cabeza de Vaca identifies as follow: the place of boxed cadavers, Apalachen, Isla Malhado, and the buckle/horseshoe nail place.

Keywords : discourse; empire; cristiano; indigenous people; castaway; Cabeza de Vaca.