This book is a biography written for young adults detailing one of the most remarkable, yet frequently overlooked, figures of early American exploration: Esteban the Black (also known as Estevanico, Estebanico, or Mustafa Zemmouri).
Originally a Moroccan slave, Esteban was part of the disastrous 1527 Spanish Narváez expedition to Florida. Out of 300 men, he was one of only four survivors who spent eight harrowing years walking across the American Southwest to escape captivity, learning native languages and working as medicine men along the way. In 1539, because of his incredible survival skills and rapport with Indigenous tribes, he was chosen to lead an advance expedition into New Mexico in search of the fabled Seven Cities of Gold (Cíbola).
The gorgeous, highly dynamic map featured in your third photo ("Esteban's Route 1528–1539") brilliantly traces this massive, cross-continental odyssey from Cuba across the Gulf of Mexico, down into Mexico City, and straight back up into what is now Arizona and New Mexico.
