Juan Garrido
Born in the Kingdom of Kongo, present-day northern Angola and the Republic of the Congo, Garrido is believed to have travelled to Portugal, where he not only converted to Christianity but also changed his name to Juan Garrido (handsome John). After spending time in Portugal and Spain, Garrido decided to venture further into the world. He joined the conquistador, a group of freed Black men who travelled to the Americas as part of the Spanish expeditionary force. In 1508, he arrived in Hispaniola, where the Dominican Republic and Haiti currently reside. He also joined Ponce de Leon in his quest for gold in Puerto Rico. Through the path of his expeditions with Ponce De Leon, Garrido came to be the first African to enter what would become the United States. He could be referred to as the first African American. Garrido would later join the Hernan Cortes’ expedition that invaded Mexico. For his service in the Spanish army, Garrido was provided with a dried out land outside the former Aztec capital in 1522. He became a farmer and one of the first wheat producers in America. He later got married and had three children. Garrido explored a final expedition in 1533 with Cortes to Baja California before he passed away in 1536.
