The original critical opinion of the Chronicle of the Narváez Expedition is unknown, save that it influenced its readers to look to North America as a place full of potential for gaining wealth through gold as well as other metals and minerals. It was only available in Spanish and Italian until the mid-nineteenth century, when translations were made into German, French, and English. By the twentieth century, a number of English versions were available.

Many modern readers of English translations find the book exhilarating. Reviewing a new translations of the text, a critic in the National Geographic Adventure comments, "The book is as exciting and short as the trip was arduous and long. Cabeza de Vaca writes with breathless energy of the marvels he saw and the sufferings he endured."

Most critics acknowledge that the Chronicle was important in the launching of further exploration of...