The Racial Frontier

Men of African descent were in the West since the time of Spanish exploration in the 16th century. Estevanico, a Black slave from Morocco, was among the explorers who landed near Florida’s Tampa Bay in 1528. A series of disasters followed, and the members made their way in makeshift barges to the coast of Texas. Indians enslaved them, and soon, Estevanico was one of only four survivors. They escaped captivity and reached the interior of Mexico by 1536. After sharing with explorers the s