Happy Black History Month ladies and gentlemen

Here are some historical factors on the first black people to reach the Americas

Estevanico



Estevanico (c. 1500–1539), Esteban de Dorantes and Estevanico the Moor, was the first African and person to explore North America and one of the last four survivors of the Narváez expedition.

Little is known about Estevanico's background but contemporary accounts described him as a "negro alárabe" or ""Arabic-speaking black man" " native to Azemmour, Morocco. In 1522, he was sold as a slave to the Spanish nobleman Andrés Dorantes de Carranza in the Portuguese-controlled Moroccan town of Azemmour.

Starting in 1528, he participated in the Narváez expedition, which set out from Cuba under the leadership of Pánfilo de Narváez to explore and colonize Spanish Florida. After numerous challenges, including shipwrecks and enslavement by Native Americans, Estevanico, along with three other survivors, escaped their captivity in 1534 and became medicine men. They embarked on an epic journey, covering nearly 2,000 miles, through the American interior, becoming the first Europeans and African to enter the American West. Their travels were greeted with respect and admiration from the indigenous communities, and they finally reached a Spanish settlement in Sinaloa, Mexico, in July 1536.

Their tales of rich civilizations in the north captivated Spaniards in Mexico City, leading the Viceroy of New Spain, Antonio de Mendoza, to commission Fray Marcos de Niza to search for the fabled Seven Cities of Cibola. Estevanico served as a guide for the expedition, venturing ahead of the main party with a group of Sonoran Indians and trade goods. However, tragedy struck near Cíbola when the village inhabitants attacked Estevanico, leading to his death. Several contemporary accounts describe his demise but the motivations behind the attack remain unclear.

His journey, as chronicled by Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, provided insights into the peoples, wildlife, and geography of western North America.

Juan Guarrido



Juan Garrido is the best-known of the numerous African explorers who went to La Florida. He was sold into slavery as a child and taken to Lisbon (Portugal). He was later moved to Seville, at the time when Spain was beginning to explore the Caribbean. He was one of many African people (both free and enslaved) who took part in the first conquests of the New World.

Veteran conquistador
Florida was just one of his many campaigns. He also took part in the conquests of Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the islands of Guadalupe and Dominica, as well as joining the Hernando Cortés exhibitions in Mexico and Baja California.

Well-deserved reward
In recognition of his long years of service, he was named herald and keeper of the town of Mexico and was given a plot of land. He claimed that he introduced wheat farming into Mexico, which he highlighted in a list of services he sent to King Charles I of Spain.


Juan Valiente



An enslaved African who made a deal with his owner to serve as a conquistador, becoming a captain and receiving an encomienda (land and labor grant) in Chile before his death in 1553.

Happy Black History Month ladies and gentlemen

Here are some historical factors on the first black people to reach the Americas

Estevanico



Estevanico (c. 1500–1539), Esteban de Dorantes and Estevanico the Moor, was the first African and person to explore North America and one of the last four survivors of the Narváez expedition.

Little is known about Estevanico's background but contemporary accounts described him as a "negro alárabe" or ""Arabic-speaking black man" " native to Azemmour, Morocco. In 1522, he was sold as a slave to the Spanish nobleman Andrés Dorantes de Carranza in the Portuguese-controlled Moroccan town of Azemmour.

Starting in 1528, he participated in the Narváez expedition, which set out from Cuba under the leadership of Pánfilo de Narváez to explore and colonize Spanish Florida. After numerous challenges, including shipwrecks and enslavement by Native Americans, Estevanico, along with three other survivors, escaped their captivity in 1534 and became medicine men. They embarked on an epic journey, covering nearly 2,000 miles, through the American interior, becoming the first Europeans and African to enter the American West. Their travels were greeted with respect and admiration from the indigenous communities, and they finally reached a Spanish settlement in Sinaloa, Mexico, in July 1536.

Their tales of rich civilizations in the north captivated Spaniards in Mexico City, leading the Viceroy of New Spain, Antonio de Mendoza, to commission Fray Marcos de Niza to search for the fabled Seven Cities of Cibola. Estevanico served as a guide for the expedition, venturing ahead of the main party with a group of Sonoran Indians and trade goods. However, tragedy struck near Cíbola when the village inhabitants attacked Estevanico, leading to his death. Several contemporary accounts describe his demise but the motivations behind the attack remain unclear.

His journey, as chronicled by Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, provided insights into the peoples, wildlife, and geography of western North America.

Juan Guarrido



Juan Garrido is the best-known of the numerous African explorers who went to La Florida. He was sold into slavery as a child and taken to Lisbon (Portugal). He was later moved to Seville, at the time when Spain was beginning to explore the Caribbean. He was one of many African people (both free and enslaved) who took part in the first conquests of the New World.

Veteran conquistador
Florida was just one of his many campaigns. He also took part in the conquests of Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the islands of Guadalupe and Dominica, as well as joining the Hernando Cortés exhibitions in Mexico and Baja California.

Well-deserved reward
In recognition of his long years of service, he was named herald and keeper of the town of Mexico and was given a plot of land. He claimed that he introduced wheat farming into Mexico, which he highlighted in a list of services he sent to King Charles I of Spain.


Juan Valiente



An enslaved African who made a deal with his owner to serve as a conquistador, becoming a captain and receiving an encomienda (land and labor grant) in Chile before his death in 1553.