Juan Garrido on a Spanish Expedition (1579)

Juan Garrido on a Spanish Expedition (1579)

AP African American Studies Guide

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Topic 2.1

Diego Durán, Depiction of a Black soldier in Hernán Cortés’s entourage, in La Historia de las Indias de Nueva España e Islas de Tierra Firme [Códice Durán] (1579)

From left to right, several knights in silver armor holding spears, a brown horse with a white mane and red saddle, held by a short Black man wearing black shoes and a gray coat holding a spear; a white man in a red coat, orange pants/stockings, and black socks doffing a red hat with a gold band; and three indigenous royal figures in white hats and robes, one of whom is holding a ceremonial necklace.


Source: A depiction of a Black soldier (possibly Juan Garrido) in Hernán Cortés’s entourage, by Diego Durán, in La Historia de las Indias de Nueva España e Islas de Tierra Firme [Códice Durán], 1579, fl. 214. (Biblioteca Nacional de España)