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The key players in the area known today as Texas were, during the sixteenth century, the Native American populations and the Spanish explorers. People of African descent also played a part in the Spanish exploration of Texas during the early part of the sixteenth century.
The following Native American cultures were present in Texas when European explorers first arrived: Apaches, Caddos, Jumanos, Tonkawas, Coahuiltecans, Atakapans, Patarabueyes, and Karankawas. Spanish explorers first came into contact with Native Americans in the region known as Texas in 1528, when Cabaza de Vaca and his companions were taken captive by the Tonkawa Indians who were living on Texas' coast.
Some Native populations were friendly to the early explorers, however, friendly or hostile, all Native peoples suffered disastrous effects from illnesses the European explorers brought into their lands. Some of the early Spanish explorers include:
- 1519 Alonso Alvarez de Piñeda
- 1527 Pánfilo de Narváez
- 1528 Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca
- 1541-1543 Francisco Vázquez de Coronado
- 1582-83 Antonio de Espejo
- 1590 Gaspar Castaño de Sosa
In 1528, an African named Estevancio was the first person of African descent to travel through the area we now call Texas. Estevancio was traveling with Cabeza de Vaca and other survivors of the Narváez expedition. Estevancio served as a translator on this expedition between the Europeans and many of the Indian people they encountered. "Other Africans accompanied the Spanish into the Southwest, and some settled with them in the region known today as Texas ('African Americans,' Handbook of Texas Online)." Although some of the African American people who lived in Spanish Texas were free men and women, most of the African Americans who lived in Spanish Texas were slaves.
Caddo Indians in The Handbook of Texas
Apaches in The Handbook of Texas
Jumanos in The Handbook of Texas
Tonkawas in The Handbook of Texas
Coahuiltecans in The Handbook of Texas
Atakapans in The Handbook of Texas
Patarabueyes in The Handbook of Texas
Karankawas in The Handbook of Texas
Map of the location of “Texas Indians”
A Shared Experience's Historical Survey, Sixteenth and Seventeenth-Century Spanish Explorations
Álvar Núñez Cabeza De Vaca in The Handbook of Texas
Spanish Texas in The Handbook of Texas
Narváez, Pánfilo De in The Handbook of Texas
Coronado Expedition in The Handbook of Texas
Antonio de Espejo in The Handbook of Texas
Gaspar Castaño de Sosa in The Handbook of Texas
Palo Duro Canyon State Park
New Perspectives on the West, PBS Multimedia tour
African Americans in The Handbook of Texas
Slavery in The Handbook of Texas
Texas History Timeline
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