Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca: Explorer of Gulf Coast & South America, Not Texas as a Country

Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca (c. 1490–1558) was a Spanish explorer who did not explore "a country in Texas"—Texas was not a country. His journeys:

• 1527–1536: Narváez expedition to Florida; shipwrecked on Galveston Island (Texas coast); lived among Native Americans (Karankawa, etc.) for years as trader/healer; walked across Texas/N. Mexico to Spanish Mexico (Culiacán).
• 1540–1545: Governor of Río de la Plata (South America); explored Paraguay River basin, reached Asunción.

His account, La Relación (1542), is the first European narrative of the Gulf Coast and Southwest U.S. interior. He explored territories that became Texas, not a sovereign Texas.