Joseph, I guess what I meant is that an African slave, to me, was one like the ancestors of the African-Americans and Negroes of Brazil. In facial features and body type they look to me like the tribes found on the Ivory Coast or Gold Coast of Africa, and not like the North Africans (Ethiopians and Moroccans) that the Moors in Spain were descended from. I heard of stories of Moors who came to the New World with the Conquistadores. I didn't think they were slaves, more like indentured servants who could be freed. I have seen the descriptions of people in the microfilmed records as Negro, Mulato, Mestizo, Coyote, and Yndio, but not in relation to anyone of my ancestors I could identify. They were all (until 1821) identified as Espanol. After 1821, there are no descriptions as to race. In my family it is known that my mother's side had Piro Indian blood around her grand-father's time. He was born around 1854, and my father told me that he was a Mestizo, even though he was not dark or curly-haired like his cousins. I couldn't figure out what "coyote" meant. I guess it means "Native"? I also have seen Yndio Genizaro as a description. Wonder what that means.
Get more from the Web. FREE MSN Explorer download : http://explorer.msn.com |
TEST SITE - DO NOT USE - Development only
Nuestros Ranchos - Test Site