🔥
Jun 10 • General discussion
Did You Know?
Cowboys Were More Diverse Than in the Movies.
The image of the gunslinging, freewheeling cowboy — strictly, a man on horseback that drives cattle to and from pasture — is burned into the American cultural experience, but it’s missing a few historic truths. For example: As many as one out of four cowboys in the Wild West were Black.
When wealthy American enslavers moved to Texas (first part of Spain, then Mexico) in the early 1800s to start cattle ranches, they brought enslaved people with them in droves. Even in 1825, when Texas was still part of anti-slavery Mexico, enslaved folks made up around 25% of the settler population. These ranch owners, many of whom eventually fought for the Confederacy in the Civil War, relied on slave labor to keep their cattle contained. After the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 made slavery illegal (Texas had joined the U.S. in 1845), these ranchers started having a lot of trouble with runaway cattle.
Recently freed Black Americans who had been enslaved on cattle ranches were highly skilled in wrangling, and suddenly, paid cowboys were in extremely high demand — so many of them took up the cowboy trade. While they faced high levels of discrimination at the ranches, in towns, and on the plains alike, they forged tight bonds with their white and Mexican colleagues in cowboy crews.
6
2 comments
Did You Know?
powered by
skool.com/programs-other-then-skool-3667
Welcome to Promotion Hub.
Promote Your Thing, That's Why Were Here.
All Proceeds Go to Our Local Animal Shelter, Thank You. And The Animals Thank You
Suggested communities
Powered by