Walk the World's Rim by Betty Baker
"Walk the World's Rim" by Betty Baker is a historical fiction novel that intertwines fact with narrative, exploring the experiences of four survivors from the ill-fated Spanish expedition led by Panfilo de Narvaez in 1527. The story centers on the interactions between these Spaniards—Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca, Alonso del Castillo Maldonado, Andres Dorantes, and Esteban, an African slave—and the Avavare Indians in Texas. The protagonist, fourteen-year-old Chakoh, the headman's son, grapples with the concepts of honor and slavery as he befriends Esteban, unaware of his status as a slave.
As the group embarks on a challenging journey to Mexico, they face cultural encounters and conflicts, with Esteban taking on a pivotal role by facilitating communication and navigating the complex dynamics between the Spaniards and various Native tribes. The narrative eventually leads to the disappointing revelation of the fabled city of Cibola, highlighting themes of betrayal and the harsh realities of colonial ambitions. The novel is significant for portraying the perspectives of Native Americans, illustrating their fears and resistance against European exploitation, and offering a nuanced view of a historical figure often overlooked in traditional narratives. Baker's work stands as an early and influential contribution to historical fiction for young readers, shedding light on the injustices faced during the Spanish conquest.
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Subject Terms
Walk the World's Rim by Betty Baker
First published: 1965; illustrated
Type of work: Historical fiction
Themes: Coming-of-age, death, friendship, race and ethnicity, and travel
Time of work: The second quarter of the sixteenth century
Recommended Ages: 10-13
Locale: New Spain (now Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and Mexico)
Principal Characters:
Esteban , a loyal, courageous, honorable African slaveChakoh , a fourteen-year-old Avavare Indian who goes to Mexico to learn how to help his peopleAlvar Nunez Cabeza De Vaca , a Spaniard and the highest-ranking member of the four survivors of Panfilo de Narvaez’s Florida expedition of 1527Andres Dorantes , one of the Spanish survivors, who is the owner of EstebanAlonso Del Castillo Maldonado , another Spanish survivor, often weak and illFray Marcos De Niza , a high-ranking churchman in Mexico (now Mexico City)
The Story
Walk the World’s Rim is historical fiction based in part on fact. The three Spaniards Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca, Alonso del Castillo Maldonado, and Andres Dorantes, along with Dorantes’ African slave Esteban, are the only survivors of Panfilo de Narvaez’s ill-fated expedition of 1527 to Florida. They arrive in the village of the Avavare Indians in what is now Texas in 1534 and spend the winter. Fourteen-year-old Chakoh, the headman’s son, learns to admire and respect Esteban. Chakoh and his people abhor slaves, however, believing that all slaves are shameless cowards without honor. Chakoh does not know that Esteban is a slave even though Esteban tries to tell him that he is. Realizing how Chakoh feels about slaves, and because he likes Chakoh, Esteban does not attempt to tell him again.
Because they want to get to Mexico and are afraid of the coastal Indians, the survivors plan to travel northwestward through what is now New Mexico and Arizona before turning south. Chakoh goes with the men so that he perhaps can learn from the Spaniards and return to his people to make life better for them. The journey to Mexico is long and difficult, and the five travelers encounter trouble in some camps and villages. Esteban always smoothes their way, resolves the difficulties, learns the languages of the various tribes, and leads the group to Mexico. From the Pima Indians, the men hear about the fabled city of Cibola, and the three Spaniards hope that they will be able to return with an expedition to find the city.
Mexico brings disappointment to all. When the Spaniards tell the viceroy about Cibola, he does not let them return. Dorantes does not give Esteban his freedom as he had promised but rents him to the viceroy to work in his stables. Under the care of churchmen, Chakoh learns the Spaniards’ religion and wears European clothing, but he does not realize that he is becoming a slave to the easy life, good food, and warm bed of the abbey. Eventually, the viceroy sends a small expedition to search for Cibola under Fray Marcos de Niza with Chakoh and Esteban as guides. Learning that Esteban is a slave, Chakoh no longer respects him. Unkind words pass between them; finally, Chakoh sees that Esteban is not like slaves he has known but is rather a man of great trust, honor, courage, and loyalty.
Esteban arrives at Cibola ahead of Fray Marcos, and the Cibolans attack him and the Indians who have come with him. Esteban dies, and Chakoh is wounded and returns to Mexico with Fray Marcos in a fevered, delirious state. When he gets better, he decides to go back to his people. As he leaves Mexico, Chakoh burns Esteban’s most cherished possession in the center of the plaza to free his spirit so that it can return to Africa, the land of Esteban’s people.
Context
Esteban was a real person and was relatively unknown until Betty Baker wrote Walk the World’s Rim; he is one of the unsung heroes in the history of the New World. Without him, the Spaniards with whom he traveled could hardly have survived their ten-year ordeal among sometimes hostile Indians, some of whom kept them prisoners because they seemed to be able to heal successfully many of their sick. Because of Esteban, the authorities in New and Old Spain learned the outcome of the expedition to Florida and discovered more about the unexplored parts of the New World through which Esteban and the Spaniards passed.
Walk the World’s Rim not only reveals the heroic virtues of a historical person, but also was one of the first novels for young readers to show the injustice and cruelty of the conquering Europeans. The Cibolans attack Esteban and his companions because they are afraid the Spaniards are coming to enslave and exploit them as they had the Aztecs and the Incas; the killing done by them is an act of desperation to save themselves from slavery and to preserve their way of life. With the exception of a few earlier historical novels, such as Carol Ryrie Brink’s Caddie Woodlawn (1935) and Scott O’Dell’s Island of the Blue Dolphins (1960), Baker’s Walk the World’s Rim shows customs and beliefs of Native Americans in a new light, demonstrating that they were not totally barbaric savages, as fiction for young readers and adults have usually portrayed them. Being among the first books to tell the Indians’ side of the story of the Europeans’ conquest makes Walk the World’s Rim a landmark book in historical fiction for young readers.