Esteban

The African Slave Who Explored America

Dennis Herrick

• Publisher: UNM Press
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN:
  9780826359810
• eBook ISBN:
  9780826359827
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: African American History
• Index: History

When Pueblo Indians say, “The first white man our people saw was a black man,” they are referring to Esteban, who came to New Mexico in 1539. After centuries of negative portrayals, this book highlights Esteban’s importance in America’s early history.

Books about the history of the American West have ignored Esteban or belittled his importance, often using his slave nickname, Estebanico. What little we know about Esteban comes from Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca and other Spanish chroniclers, whose condescension toward the African slave has carried over into most history books. In this work Herrick dispels the myths and outright lies about Esteban. His biography emphasizes Esteban rather than the Spaniards whose exploits are often exaggerated and jingoistic in the sixteenth-century chronicles. He gives Esteban full credit for his courage and his skill as a linguist and cultural intermediary who was trusted and respected by Indians from many tribes across the continent.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half title
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Noteworthy Dates
• Notes for the Modern Reader
• Chapter 1 A Man of Mysteries
• Chapter 2 The Morocco Connection
• Chapter 3 Terrorism in the Caribbean
• Chapter 4 Esteban Arrives at Hispaniola
• Chapter 5 Early Indian Resistance
• Chapter 6 A Disastrous Beginning
• Chapter 7 Invasion of Florida
• Chapter 8 The Quest for Gold
• Chapter 9 Arrows Penetrating “Good Armor”
• Chapter 10 Fleeing in Rickety Boats
• Chapter 11 Spaniards Forced into Slavery
• Chapter 12 Faith Healing and Proselytizing
• Chapter 13 Esteban’s Rise and Fall
• Chapter 14 Return to Slavery, but an Indispensable Man
• Chapter 15 An African in Arizona and New Mexico
• Chapter 16 A Mysterious Fate
• Chapter 17 Death? Or Freedom?
• Chapter 18 The Durability of Myth
• Chapter 19 Inhumane Bondage and Historical Context
• Chapter 20 What Isn’t Known about Esteban
• Appendix An American Sculptor’s Tribute
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index