44, imprisoned for eleven months, and sent back to Spain for imprisonment on March 8, 1545.
 Cabeza de Vaca arrived in Seville on September 2, 1545, was imprisoned in Madrid for three months, and released on bond to live under house arrest. Cabeza de Vaca was accused of a number of criminal charges including the abuse of native populations in South America, the abandonment of members of his expedition, the prohibition of trade with the natives, and the confiscation of the property of members of his expedition without compensation. On March 18, 1551, he was found guilty of the charges and sentenced by the Council of the Indies. His sentence included the stripping of all titles, banishment from the Americas, and a five-year banishment from Spain to a penal colony in Onan (now Algeria). Cabeza de Vaca appealed his conviction and his banishment from Spain was suspended, while his banishment from the Americas only included the Rio de la Plata region. Cabeza de Vaca eventually vindicated himself against the charges of professional incompetence in Rio de la Plata and restored his honor in the eyes of the royal court. He published a second edition of La Relacion in 1555, which included a second part detailing his account of his time as governor of Rio de la Plata.
 Cabeza de Vaca spent the remainder of his life in Seville. He was named by the emperor as Chief Justice of the Tribunal of Seville in 1556. His activities in his final years are largely unknown. The exact date of his death has never been determined, but recent historical research indicates that he died between 1559 and 1560 and is buried in the family vault in Jerez de la Frontera.
- Adorno, Rolena, and Patrick Charles Pautz. Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca: His Account, His Life, and the Exploration of Panfilo de Narvaez. 3 vols. Lincoln: U of Nebraska P, 1999. (Paperback edition of the text and introduction 2003.)
- This work is the result of a project by the two authors since 1991. The massive three-volume set is a detailed analysis of the life, times, and written work of Cabeza de Vaca. Volume one offers a translation of Cabeza de Vaca's 1542 Relacion and an exploration of the life of Cabeza de Vaca. Adorno and Pautz explore the history of the Cabeza de Vaca family name and offer a detailed biography of Cabeza de Vaca, including details of his early years in Jerez de Frontera, his appointment to the Narvaez expedition, his time as governor of Rio de la Plata, and his later years of arrest, imprisonment, and ultimate vindication in Spain. Volume two offers an account of the origin and eventual outcome of the Narvaez expedition. A detailed analysis of Cabeza de Vaca's account of the expedition is the bulk of this volume. Volume three traces the textual history of Cabeza de Vaca's Relacion and offers a wide ranging sampling of readers from the Sixteenth through the Eighteenth centuries. The last section of volume three investigates the historical contexts. This is currently the premier scholarly examination of the life, work, and times of Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca. (Paperback edition of the text and introduction 2003.)
- Adorno, Rolena. "The Negotiation of Fear in Cabeza de Vaca's Naufrigios." Representations 33 (1991): 163-99.
- As is problematic of many true stories, the line between embellishments and lies remains unclear. Adorno comments on the differences between Cabeza de Vaca's story before and after meeting with the emperor, where his previous descriptions of an impoverished country suddenly transform into accounts of wealth and grandeur. The conference with the Spanish nobles and the later publication of Naufragios mark the onset of debates between what is conveyed by Cabeza de Vaca, and what is voiced about Cabeza de Vaca. Deliberations began later that year and continue today. All Adorno wishes for is her own interpretation to be heard by the literary community, using logical reasoning while following Cabeza de Vaca on his journey according to his account and the postulations conceived by critics. The Joint Report, penned by other Spanish survivors of the Narv