Cabeza de Vaca divides the people in the Americas into two categories: “Christian” and “Indian.” “Christian” is used to denote Europeans, or enslaved people attached to a European. It is possible that Estevanico, the Moor who survives along with Cabeza de Vaca, Dorantes, and Castillo, is not a converted Christian and still maintains his Islamic beliefs; however, he is always included under the denotation “Christian.”

Even though Cabeza de Vaca learns the names of many peoples, for many reasons he simply refers to any Indigenous peoples as “Indians,” a term derived from the earlier European belief that the Americas were part of the Orient (i.e., the Indies).

Cabeza de Vaca uses the title adelantado, a colonial governor in the Spanish Empire. The term literally means “advanced” and was granted exclusively by the monarch. The adelantado was granted control of a specific region and was expected to conquer and govern the area. The term dates to the Middle Ages.