who were the first cowboys in america

The first cowboys in America were the vaqueros, who originated from Spanish settlers in the early 1500s in Mexico. They were responsible for managing cattle on large ranches imported from Spain. These early cowboys included Native Americans trained by Spanish missions, Spanish settlers, and importantly, many were Black, including enslaved Africans brought by the Spanish. The vaquero tradition is the foundation of the North American cowboy culture, and it dates back to the late 1600s and early 1700s. This tradition, with its specialized skills and equipment, predates the iconic American cowboy imagery often associated with the 19th-century cattle drives by centuries. African and Native American cowboys were essential and prominent in this early period, reshaping the long-held, mostly whitewashed image of cowboys in America.