Estevanico

Estevanico (* before 1528 in Azemmour , Morocco ; † 1539 ) was a Moor from North Africa who was captured and enslaved by the Spanish in the 16th century . His master was Andrés Dorantes de Carranza . Together, the two survived the failed Narváez expedition from Cuba to Florida in 1528.

The first African crosses America

Shipwrecked, they stranded with many other members of the expedition on the "Island of Bad Fate" ( Galveston , Texas ). As the only survivors, Estevanico, Andrés Dorantes de Carranza, Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca and Alonso del Castillo Maldonado wandered across the North American continent. Estevanico was described by his contemporaries as a kind of "figurehead", as he often made the first contact with the Indian population. It took the men eight years to complete the entire route and suffered incredible hardship along the way.

Scouts

They did not return to Mexico until 1536. There Estevanico was sold by his master to the viceroy Antonio de Mendoza . He was to serve as a guide for Father Marcos de Niza on his way to the north. Marcos de Niza was given the task of finding the northern trade center that Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca had reported about. North of Culiacan , Marcos de Niza sent the slave Estevanico a few days' march ahead. He was supposed to find out the way and deliver messages to him through Indian messengers. A few weeks later, descriptions of the Seven Cities of Cibola reached Estevanico's ears. He sent an Indian runner to Marcos de Niza and dutifully conveyed the message to him. But he didn't want to wait for the father. He ignored his orders and went on to be the first to discover the fabulous cities.

death

Father Marcos de Niza tried to catch up with him. But shortly before Cibola, Estevanico's Indian companions met him. They reported that the moor had been killed by the locals. The Kazike had refused him entry into the city, but Estevanico, trusting in his many years of experience in dealing with the Indians, laughed at them. There was a fight in which the Moor was killed, according to the Indians. Marcos de Niza then went on to a plateau from which he could see the city in the distance. However, he did not dare to get any closer and started the way back. Shortly afterwards, his descriptions sparked the Coronado campaign against the Pueblo Indians . If you follow the reports of his contemporaries, Estevanico must have been a remarkable and extraordinarily communicative person. He is said to have only needed a few weeks to learn the many Indian languages. The Indian women were particularly taken with him. He was valued by the indigenous tribes themselves for his medical knowledge.

Legend

It was hypothesized that Estevanico was not actually killed by the Zuñis at all . Rather, it is believed possible that he was just hit hard and knocked down by them. There is strong evidence that Estevanico lived on as a free man with other Indians. In the legends of the Zuñis it is said that the black Mexican with the chilli lips (swollen lips from chilli pepper) was captured by their forefathers, but the rest of the Mexicans were chased away in a hail of arrows. However, there is no clear evidence for this hypothesis.

See also

• Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca
• Hernán Cortés

literature

• Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca: The shipwrecks of the Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca . Report on the misfortune of the Narváez expedition to the south coast of North America 1527–1536, Stuttgart 1925
• Rayford Logan: Estevanico, Negro Discoverer of the Southwest: A Critical Reexamination. Phylon 1 (1940): 305-314
• CW Ceram : The First American. 1972, ISBN 978-3-7608-1928-0

Movie

• The adventures of the Cabeza de Vaca . Spanish-Mexican film 1990, directed by Nicolás Echevarría .

Web links

• Kitty Morse: Esteban of Azemmour and His New World Adventures. Saudi Aramco World, March / April 2002, pp. 2-9