01/26/2025
More than 80 years before the Pilgrims arrived on the Mayflower in 1620, An enslaved African Estevanico, became the first non-indigenous man to explore Mexico, California, New Mexico, Texas and Arizona.
Estevanico as a slave traveled to the New World with a 600-man Spanish expedition sent to explore the shores of the gulf of Mexico. The expedition was shipwrecked off the coast of what became Texas, and within a year Estevanico and three others were the only survivors of the group of eighty castaways enslaved by Indians. The four managed to escape and convinced friendlier Indians they met that they possessed healing powers. He accepted gifts from many tribes as he traveled across Texas and Mexico on foot for eight years and reached the Gulf of California in 1536. The Rode to Eldorado is based on the journey of Estevanico.
