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FROM SLAVE TO RULER—AND DEFENDER OF THE DOWNTRODDEN

Monday, August 12, 2024

In today’s newsletter, we learn when ugliness was a crime, discover how Anne Boleyn seduced Henry VIII, examine how two cannabis varieties affect you ... and surf the world’s biggest waves. Plus, we unearth a compassionate conquistador

A bronze statue of Cabeza de Vaca statue in Houston, Texas

ZOONAR GMBH/ ALAMY/ ACI

The word “conquistador” is all about conquest and subjugation, of burying one culture underneath another, by trickery or force if necessary.

But what if, among the many greedy and brutal conquistadors, there was one who never forgot his experience of being shipwrecked in Texas—and enslaved?

This story flips the script of America’s Spanish colonizers. Who was Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca—and what did he do?

DIGNITY AND COMPASSION

Related: Without this Native American peacemaker, the Pilgrims may not have made it

STORIES WE’RE FOLLOWING

An elephant is framed by the circular motion of another

PHOTOGRAPH BY MICHAEL NICHOLS, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION

Happy World Elephant Day. Here are 100 years of elephant photos from Nat Geo.

Illegal to be ’ugly’? The history behind one of America‘s cruelest laws.

Cannabis Watch: Do these two varieties affect the body differently?

The legacy of history’s biggest ‘brat girls’

This parasite uses a clone army against its enemies

Tha amazing dinosaur found (accidentally) in Canada

Photo of the Week: The croc who snuck up on Nat Geo photographer Jen Hayes

Do you wear khakis? Do you know their surprising history?

How to get rid of shoe odor

WHAT IN THE WORLD?

Anne Boleyn

PHOTOGRAPH BY ART ARCHIVE

Inquiring readers want to know. How did Anne Boleyn entice King Henry VIII to marry her (albeit just for a while).

A. Flirtation
B. Faith
C. Fertility
D. All of the above

CLICK FOR THE ANSWER

WATCH THE TRAILER

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Big waves by the lighthouse at the Fort of Sao Miguel Arcanjo

PHOTOGRAPH BY VITOR ESTRELINHA

The world’s biggest waves: What’s it like to surf them? Says record-breaking woman surfer Maya Gabeira: “It just felt like you were going down forever, like a mountain.” Check out these waves.

Today’s soundtrack: Conquistador, Procol Harem

Didn’t catch yesterday’s spine-tingling Photo of the Week? Here it is. Sign up here to get it this weekend.

Today’s newsletter was curated and edited by Nishita Naga, Nancy San Martín, and David Beard. Let us know if you have any suggestions for us.

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