Juan Garrido: The Black Conquistador Who Shaped Early Colonial Americas

Juan Garrido, born around 1480 in West Africa (likely the Kingdom of Kongo, present-day northern Angola), was among the first Africans to cross the Atlantic and participate in Spanish conquests in the Americas. Arriving in Hispaniola as a free man possibly on Governor Nicolás de Ovando's expedition in the early 1510s, he later joined Ponce de Leon's expeditions to Puerto Rico, Bimini, and Florida, and served under Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar in Cuba. In November 1518, he joined Hernán Cortés's conquest of the Aztec Empire, witnessing the fall of Tenochtitlán and burying fallen Spaniards after the 'Noche Triste.' Despite his service, he initially received land outside Mexico City's traza, only becoming a citizen in February 1525. He held positions as doorkeeper of the city council, guardian of the Chapultepec aqueduct, and town crier. He married Spanish woman Francisca Ramírez in the late 1520s, but by 1536 she faced witchcraft accusations. Garrido participated in gold-mining in Zacatula and later in Cortés's 1534 expedition to Baja California. On September 27, 1538, he submitted a probanza to Charles I of Spain detailing his merits, claiming to have been the first to sow maize in New Spain and to have introduced wheat at his own expense. His story highlights the overlooked role of Black conquistadors in Spanish colonization.