This 1777 map of St. Augustine labels Nuestra Señora de la Soledad( then St. Peter’ s Church) as“ Parifh Church.” Photo credit: University of Florida Historic St. Augustine( UFHSA) Governor’ s House Library
This marker stands on the site of St. Peter’ s Anglican Church, which was converted from Nuestra Señora de la Soledad Catholic Church and Hospital. Photo credit Visit St. Augustine.
Estebana’ s life— and those of the others mentioned— is symbolic. They represent foundational but often overlooked stories that reveal the essential role of African-descended people in the founding of St. Augustine and the nation. As historian Jane Landers explained scholars of colonial Latin settlements have documented the presence of free and enslaved Africans in nearly every Spanish expedition from 1513 to 1565, culminating in the founding of St. Augustine.
In 1513, Spanish explorer Don Juan Ponce de León arrived in the New World, accompanied by Juan Garrido, a Kongolese native. Garrido, according to Landers and Ballve, became the first documented Black person to arrive in what is now the U. S., landing near St. Augustine. He was one of two African men on that expedition.
From the earliest days of the settlement, according to Francis, free and enslaved Africans helped explore, build, sustain and defend St. Augustine. They lived in a multicultural society alongside Spanish, German, Flemish, Portuguese, Irish, French, Catalan and Indigenous peoples.
By the early 1600s— predating the 1619 arrival of enslaved Africans in Jamestown— Spanish documents show that approximately 52 enslaved Black men and women were part of St. Augustine’ s settlement garrison. As Landers argued,“ the Underground Railroad ran south first.” Unlike English or Dutch systems, Spain’ s laws allowed enslaved people to buy and sell property, file lawsuits, and purchase freedom for themselves or their
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