It derives from cattle of Iberian origin brought to Americas by the conquistadores in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries.
[5] These cattle numbered no more than 300 head in all, and were brought to La Isla Española (now known as Hispaniola) and other Caribbean islands.
[6]: 277 By the beginning of the eighteenth century the total number of cattle in the Spanish part of what is now the United States – Florida and parts of modern Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi – was estimated at between 15000 and 20000 head.
[2] The cattle are long-lived, hardy and rugged; they are able to forage on poor pasture, show good resistance to parasites and display high tolerance of the heat and humidity of the south-western United States.
[8] The Pineywoods was traditionally a triple-purpose breed, used for animal traction, for milk and for beef production.