Glossary
Agency (African)
The capacity of Africans to act independently and make their own free choices, even within oppressive systems, influencing their own destinies and historical outcomes.
Example:
Despite the widespread oppression, the actions of maroons forming independent communities demonstrated African agency in resisting enslavement.
Atlantic Creoles
A broader group including Ladinos, these individuals were culturally adept, often multilingual, and could navigate between European, African, and Indigenous cultures, acting as vital intermediaries.
Example:
An Atlantic Creole might have facilitated trade negotiations between a Portuguese merchant and an African chief, understanding the customs and languages of both.
Conquistadores (African role)
Africans who participated in European conquest expeditions in the Americas, often with the hope of gaining freedom or social mobility through their service.
Example:
An African conquistador like Juan Garrido joined Spanish forces, hoping his service would lead to his freedom and a better life in the New World.
Enslaved Laborers (African role)
Africans forcibly brought to the Americas and compelled to perform arduous work, primarily in mining and agriculture, to generate wealth for European colonizers.
Example:
Many Africans were forced to work as enslaved laborers in silver mines, enduring brutal conditions to extract resources for the Spanish Crown.
Estevanico
An enslaved African healer from Morocco who was forced to serve as an explorer and translator in the southwestern United States, highlighting the exploitation of African skills for colonial expansion.
Example:
Estevanico's journey across the American Southwest as an explorer, despite his enslaved status, showcases the forced contributions of Africans to European discovery.
Free Skilled Workers and Artisans (African role)
Africans in the Americas who utilized their specialized skills, such as carpentry or blacksmithing, to maintain or gain their freedom and contribute to colonial societies.
Example:
An African free skilled worker and artisan might have been a master carpenter, building structures in a colonial town and earning enough to purchase his family's freedom.
Intermediaries
Individuals, like Ladinos and Atlantic Creoles, who facilitated communication, trade, and cultural exchange between different groups, such as Europeans, Africans, and Indigenous peoples.
Example:
An intermediary might have negotiated a peace treaty between a European colonizer and an Indigenous tribe, leveraging their understanding of both cultures.
Juan Garrido
A free African conquistador from the Kingdom of Kongo, notable as the first known African to arrive in North America (Florida, 1513), serving in Spanish military forces.
Example:
Juan Garrido's petition for recognition of his service in New Spain demonstrates the complex agency of some Africans in early colonial ventures.
Ladinos
These were some of the first Africans in the Americas, arriving with European explorers in the early 16th century, often familiar with Iberian culture and languages.
Example:
A Ladinos might have served as a translator for a Spanish expedition, bridging the communication gap between Europeans and Indigenous groups.
Oppression (African)
The systematic and unjust treatment of Africans, particularly through chattel slavery, which denied them fundamental rights and subjected them to brutal exploitation and control.
Example:
The transatlantic slave trade and the brutal conditions on plantations are clear examples of the severe oppression faced by Africans in the Americas.