Estéban

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Estéban

North African enslaved man

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June 26, 2026

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Estéban was a North African enslaved man who became a celebrated explorer of the Americas. He was part of the Spanish expedition led by Pánfilo de Narváez in 1527, which aimed to explore and colonize lands from Florida westward.12

Estéban traveled through the Southwest in the 1530s, making him the most celebrated Black explorer of the Americas. His journey was part of the larger narrative of Spanish exploration and conquest in the New World, which involved numerous expeditions and encounters with indigenous populations.12

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Florida
Exploration and settlement
…Núñez Cabeza de Vaca and Estebán, a Moorish slave who was the first black man known to have entered Florida—reached Culiacán, Mexico, in 1536. Hernando de Soto came in 1539, landing somewhere between Fort Myers and Tampa, and led another disastrous expedition, this time through western Florida. Nearly 20 years…
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…Núñez Cabeza de Vaca and Estebán, a Moorish slave who was the first black man known to have entered Florida—reached Culiacán, Mexico, in 1536. Hernando de Soto came in 1539, landing somewhere between Fort Myers and Tampa, and led another disastrous expedition, this time through western Florida. Nearly 20 years…
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Today in History—February 23
The Expedition That Chased Cities of Gold
…Fray Marcos de Niza, with Estéban traveling ahead as a guide. If Estéban found wealth, he would send back a messenger with a cross: The larger the cross, the richer the city.
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…Fray Marcos de Niza, with Estéban traveling ahead as a guide. If Estéban found wealth, he would send back a messenger with a cross: The larger the cross, the richer the city.
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Seven Cities of Cíbola
…an expedition in 1539 under Estéban, a black slave who had been shipwrecked with Cabeza de Vaca, and Fray Marcos de Niza to verify de Vaca’s reports. Fray Marcos, assured of the cities’ existence by an Indian informant, claimed to have seen them in the distance. In 1540 Mendoza dispatched…
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…an expedition in 1539 under Estéban, a black slave who had been shipwrecked with Cabeza de Vaca, and Fray Marcos de Niza to verify de Vaca’s reports. Fray Marcos, assured of the cities’ existence by an Indian informant, claimed to have seen them in the distance. In 1540 Mendoza dispatched…
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African Americans
The early history of Black people in the Americas
…explorer of the Americas was Estéban, who traveled through the Southwest in the 1530s.
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…explorer of the Americas was Estéban, who traveled through the Southwest in the 1530s.
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