Topic 2.1 - African Explorers in the Americas

What is some important background context?

• The wide variety of roles that the west africans played in European cities meant that the 1st africans in the americas also played a wide variety of roles

• Despite common misconceptions, chattel slavery was not the original experience for people from Africa in the americas

• The 1st africans in the americas came with the Spanish and enjoyed some social mobility

• In 1492, just as Portugal was colonizing são tomé and staring trade relations with kongo, the Spanish monarchs paid Christopher Columbus to try and find a western route to the spice trade of India

• This event started the colombian exchange; the global history altering the exchange of goods, plants, animals, people, from afro-eurasia to the americas and vice versa

• Estimated 90% of the indigenous population of the americas died from infectious diseases that came from afroeurasia. This biological accident the spanish the ability to colonize regions of the americas and extract immense wealth

• In the late 1400’s, trade between west African kingdoms and portugal was steadily bypassing the trans-saharan trade routes

• The population of sub-saharan African, Portugal, and Spanish port cities were also growing

• In Seville and Lisbon, both free and enslaved africans worked in a variety of roles including domestic labor, boatmen, guards, entertainers, vendors, and knights. African elites, ambassadors, and the children of rulers. Trade traveled to the mediterranean port cities for diplomatic, educational, and religious reasons

Importance of Ladinos

• essential to the efforts of European powers laying claim to indigenous lands

• Juan Ponce de león used armed africans to invade puerto rice

• Juan Garrido aided Hernán Cortés in conquering the aztecs (1519-1520)

• early 1500’s some free and enslaved africans familiar with liberia culture journeyed with europeans in their earliest explorations of the americas

• amount them were the first africans in the territory that became the united states. These africans were known as ladinos assimilated to Spanish or Portuguese language and cultures. Did not sympathize its indigenous people, and familiar with trading practiced

Ladinos

• They were apart of a generation known as the atlantic creoles

• atlantic creoles were africans who worked as intermediaries before the predominance of chattel slavery

• Their familiarity with multiple languages, cultural norms, and commercial practices granted them measure of social mobility

African roles during the 16th century colonization

• In the 14 and 15th centuries, africans in the americas played 3 major roles

→ As conquistadors participating in the work of conquest, often in hopes of gaining their freedom

→ as enslaved laborers working largely in mining and agriculture to produce profit for europeans

→ as free skilled workers and artisans

• Roughly 300k africans were brought to the americas before 1620

• Majority arrived after 1550, africans outnumbered the spanish and portuguese in their colonies

Estevanico

• Often described as the first enslaved black man in america

• (often called esteban), an enslaved african healer from morocco was forced to work in 1528 as an explorer and translator in texas and in territory hat became the southwestern united states

• He was eventually killed by indigenous groups groups who were resisting spanish colonization

Juan Garrido

• First african to set foot into the united states

• participated in Ponce de leon’s expedition in florida in search of the fountain of youth

• When it comes to the space people of african descent could occupy in the early united states, there were space where people of african descent could be free