USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Juan Garrido a.k.a “Handsome John” was an free African conquistador who worked alongside Ponce de Leon for thirteen years. African conquistadors like Garrido were not uncommon. Many found their way into Spanish life, rather than becoming slaves.

Detailed explanation-2: -In the early 1500s, a West African man named Juan Garrido joined the ranks of Spanish explorers who ventured out in hopes of discovering new parts of the world. With their sights set on locating the fountain of youth, Garrido and other travelers landed in what we now call Florida in 1513.

Detailed explanation-3: -1480-c. 1550) Born around 1480 in West Africa, Juan Garrido is the most prominent among the small group of African freemen who traveled to the Americas to take part in the Spanish conquest of the West Indies and Mexico in the late 15th and early 16th Centuries.

Detailed explanation-4: -Juan Garrido is one example of a black conquistador who accompanied Ponce de Leon on his Caribbean expeditions as well as Hernan Cortes in Mexico. Garrido, born in West Africa, participated in the conquests of Puerto Rico, Cuba, Guadalupe, Dominica and Florida.