First Contact and the Spanish Colonial Era

First Contact and the Spanish Colonial Era. The first recorded people of African descent arrived in Texas with Spanish explorers and settlers. Estevanico, a Moorish slave from Azamor, Morocco, arrived in Texas in 1528 with a party of Spanish explorers who were shipwrecked on the Gulf Coast near Galveston Island. With three other survivors, Andres Dorantes de Castillo, Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca and Alonso del Castillo Maldonado, he walked across southern Texas and northern Mexico, showing a talent for Indian languages and acting as an interpreter for the party. Estevanico was later pressed into service by the Viceroy of New Spain, Antonio de Mendoza, to guide an expedition into what is now Arizona. He was killed at Zuni Pueblo in 1539. His death may have been due to a sacred rattle given to him by Texas Indians, which the Zuni considered an offensive object. , Estevanico was one of the thousands of Africans who helped settle Spanish Texas over the course of 300 years. By 1792, African people in Texas comprised 13 percent of the population. Most arrived enslaved. The African-American cultural heritage is a significant legacy that has shaped both our state and national heritage.