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Who were the first cowboys in the United States?
Executive summary
Historical research and recent scientific studies converge on the same core point: the skills, tools and social role we call “cowboy” in the United States trace back to Spanish-era vaqueros in Mexico and the Caribbean, reaching what is now the U.S. Southwest centuries before the 19th‑century Anglo‑American ranch hand [1] [2]. Genetic and archival work also indicates that many of the earliest mounted herders in the Americas were Indigenous, Spanish, and enslaved Africans — a diversity often obscured by later popular imagery [3] [4].
1. Vaqueros: the practical origin of cowboy work in North America
Historians and museums identify the vaquero — the horseman and cattle herder of New Spain — as the direct antecedent of the American cowboy; vaqueros operated on ranches in 16th–18th century Mexico and the Southwest, brought skills (lasso, saddle techniques, gear) that Anglo settlers later adopted, and are described as “the first cowboys in the region” by multiple institutions [1] [2] [5].
2. When and where the first mounted herding began
Domestic cattle were introduced to the Caribbean by Europeans in the late 1400s and then spread to Mexico; vaquero traditions solidified in the 1500s–1700s as Spanish colonial ranching expanded, with documented vaquero presence in regions that later became U.S. states (California, Texas, New Mexico) as early as the 17th–18th centuries [4] [1] [3].
3. Who the earliest vaqueros were — a mixed and frequently erased workforce
Primary and secondary scholarship emphasize that the first vaqueros were not a single ethnicity: Indigenous Mesoamerican men were trained by Spaniards, enslaved Africans and Moorish slaves were used early on in ranch labor, and later Mexican vaqueros (Hispano and mestizo) dominated ranch work; this diverse reality contrasts with the white, lone‑ranger image promoted by 20th‑century film [3] [6] [4].
4. New scientific evidence complicates and deepens the story
A 2023 ancient cattle‑DNA and archival study reported by Science argues that innovations like horseback herding and lariat use appeared early in the Americas and that many early mounted herders across Mexico and the Caribbean included enslaved Africans — a finding scholars say should shift misconceptions about the cowboy’s racialized origins [4] [7]. The reporting frames this as confirmation of archival evidence already pointing to diverse origins [4].
5. How Mexican practices became “American” cowboys
Anglo settlers encountering vaqueros in Texas and the Southwest adopted vaquero equipment and techniques (lariat, chaps/chaparreras, saddles) in the 19th century; historians note that U.S. pioneers “encountered Mexican vaqueros” around 1820 and borrowed their methods, producing a distinct Anglo‑American cowboy culture layered over vaquero foundations [8] [2].
6. Cultural erasure and the making of myth
Multiple sources explain that 20th‑century popular culture — especially Hollywood westerns — whitewashed or sidelined vaqueros, Black cowboys and Indigenous riders, producing the durable image of the rugged white cowboy; historians and institutions explicitly call out that the vaquero contribution has been minimized in public memory [3] [9] [10].
7. Regional variations: buckaroos, charros, and vaquero legacies
Regional cowboy traditions retained different names and forms: “buckaroo” in parts of the Great Basin likely derives from vaquero, the Mexican charreada and Californio vaquero practices persisted locally, and U.S. cowboy techniques fused those influences with Native American horsemanship to create distinct regional styles [11] [1] [12].
8. What available sources don’t settle
Available sources do not mention a single, undisputed “first person” to be called a cowboy in what is now U.S. territory; they also do not claim that one ethnicity exclusively originated cowboy work. Instead, documentation and genetic studies point to a multilayered origin across Mexico, the Caribbean and the Southwest involving Indigenous peoples, Spanish colonists, and enslaved Africans [4] [3] [5].
9. Why this matters today
Understanding that the cowboy’s technical lineage is vaquero—and that vaqueros and other non‑white riders played foundational roles—reframes debates about cultural heritage, representation, and the politics of American mythmaking. Institutions from the Autry Museum to major media outlets recommend telling a more inclusive history that reflects the documented diversity of early herders [5] [3] [10].
If you want, I can assemble a short annotated timeline of key dates and sources (e.g., 1493 cattle to Hispaniola, vaqueros in 1600s–1700s California/Texas, Anglo adoption circa 1820) with direct citations to the items above.