Estevanico
Little is known about Estevanico's background but contemporary accounts described him as a "negro alárabe" or "Arabic-speaking black man" native to Azemmour, Morocco.
In 1522, he was sold as a slave to the Spanish nobleman Andrés Dorantes de Carranza in the Portuguese-controlled Moroccan town of Azemmour.
After numerous challenges, including shipwrecks and enslavement by Native Americans, Estevanico, along with three other survivors, escaped their captivity in 1534 and became medicine men.
Their travels were greeted with respect and admiration from the indigenous communities, and they finally reached a Spanish settlement in Sinaloa, Mexico, in July 1536.
Estevanico served as a guide for the expedition, venturing ahead of the main party with a group of Sonoran Indians and trade goods.
His journey, as chronicled by Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, provided insights into the peoples, wildlife, and geography of western North America.
The most comprehensive description of his origins consists of just one line written by Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca in his Spanish account of the Narváez Expedition.
[2] This same chronicle does not mention Estevanico's enslavement but other contemporary documents make it clear that he was owned by Andrés Dorantes de Carranza, a Spanish nobleman who participated in the expedition.
[3] Most contemporary accounts referred to him by his personal nicknames Estevanico, Estevan, or simply el negro (a common Spanish term, meaning "the black").
Narváez ordered his ships and 100 men and 10 women to sail north in search of a large harbor that his pilots assured them was nearby.
After marching 300 miles north, and having armed confrontations with Native Americans, the survivors built boats to sail westward along the Gulf Coast shoreline hoping to reach Pánuco and the Rio de las Palmas.
As medicine men they were treated with great respect and offered food, shelter, and gifts, and villages held celebrations in their honor.
After finding a small Spanish settlement, the four survivors travelled 1,000 miles to the south to Mexico City, arriving in July 1536.
One day, a cross arrived that was as tall as a person and the messengers said that Estevanico had heard reports of seven large and wealthy cities in a land to the north called Cíbola.
When informed of Estevanico's impending visit, the chief of the first village angrily ordered the messenger to leave and threatened to kill anyone who came back.
[15] A year later, a much larger Spanish expedition led by Francisco Vázquez de Coronado reached the pueblo where Estevanico was reported killed.
"[19] Juan Francisco Maura suggested in 2002 that the Zuni did not kill Estevanico, but rather he and his friends remained among the A:shiwi who probably helped him fake his death so he could regain his freedom.
