Estevan De Dorantes, the Moor or the Slave? The other Moroccan explorer of New Spain

Bibliographic Data

ID3979688
AuthorsHsain Ilahiane (Iowa State University, corresponding author)
Year2000
Volume5
Issue3
Pages1-14
Publication date2000-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Journal of North African Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1362-9387 • E-ISSN: 1743-9345
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/13629380008718401
OpenAlexW1971943553
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited16

Unlike Ibn Battuta and other medieval travellers and explorers who rose to fame and still fire up much imagination and scholarship in North Africa today, Estevan, the first Moor or Black to set foot in the Southwest of the USA, is virtually unknown in his native land, Morocco. Although much has been written about his sense of adventure and exploration on this side of the Atlantic, the historical literature remains deficient in documenting the conditions under which Estevan left Morocco. This article deals with a rereading of Spanish accounts of New Spain and medieval Moroccan historical documents to better understand Estevan's status and the circumstances that led him to join the Spaniards in their conquest of the New World in the sixteenth century, and why he still remains an anonymous character in Moroccan and North African history text books

Art · Art history · Geography · Historical Studies on Spain · History · Latin American history and culture