Factor 43Factor
Factors were agents of European commercial enterprises
operating along the African coast beginning in the late 15th
century. Th e term referred to European merchants who re-
sided in the trading facilities, called factories. Many factors
took African wives. Th eir off spring oft en became factors
themselves, and were called lancados or creoles.
Factors functioned primarily as intermediaries between
European/American merchants and African merchants. To
ensure high quality of trade goods, factors inspected each
shipment of goods from Europe and America, which in-
cluded textiles, guns, and liquor. From Africans, factors
traded a variety of commodities, which included gold, ivory,
and dyes. Th ese items were warehoused in storage facilities
within the factory so as to make them quickly available for
sale to European ship captains. Factors also conducted a lu-
crative slave trade with African merchants from the interior
of the continent. Once obtained, slaves awaiting sale were
kept in a special enclosed area of the factory known as a
barracoon.
Th e lancados and creoles had a signifi cant impact on
African society. By the 18th century, there were more than
100 in the Elmina factory along the Gold Coast of West
Africa, and they were just as numerous elsewhere along
the west coast of Africa. European in dress and manners,
knowledgeable about local practices, and multilingual, they
were able to function easily in both societies. Rarely ac-
cepted by either society, however, they created their own
separate societies. As cultural and economic brokers, they
took advantage of the increasing competition among Eu-
ropean and African traders. Without a specifi c European
or African identity, however, they were placed in a very
vulnerable position. Sometimes they were enslaved them-
selves. By the 19th century, as the slave trade declined, so
did the importance of the factors.
See also: Atlantic Slave Trade; Bosman, Willem; Dutch
West India Company; Elmina; Gold Coast; Royal African
CompanyDaniel P. KotzinBibliography
Northrup, David, ed. Th e Atlantic Slave Trade. Boston: Houghton
Miffl in, 2002.
Th ornton, John. Africa and Africans in the Making of the Atlantic World,
1 400– 1 680. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1992.four survivors as Africans.) With no support, the four men
struggled for eight years as they wandered across the un-
known landscape, periodically battling and/or enslaved
by the local groups. Eventually, the men became skilled in
the native methods of medicine and were revered for their
skills. All were elevated in stature to that of “Medicine Men”
within the native communities.
Estévan, especially, developed skill using the Indian
dialects and at understanding the characteristics of the in-
dividual groups. When the chance arose for the four gentle-
men to return to Spain, the three other men accepted the
opportunity while Estévan chose to remain in Mexico. He
was greatly valued for his experience by the newly arrived
Spanish who were interested in expanding Spain’s infl uence
in the region. Again, accounts vary as to Estévan’s reasons
for remaining in Mexico as one theory suggests that his lan-
guage skills and social power as a Medicine Man allowed
him substantial freedom and wealth within the native soci-
ety, demanding gems and women from the local groups.
In 1539 Estévan was sent as a scout with two friars
in search of the Seven Cities of Gold. Reportedly, as they
traveled throughout the Southwest, the Spanish friars real-
ized that Estévan was more easily accepted by the northern
groups than they were and sent him on ahead to negotiate
with groups as they approached new areas. Th e friars sent
Estévan ahead into the Suni pueblo of Cibola where he was
killed by the Zuni Indians—some say because they would
not tolerate his demands for riches and women.
Th e role of Estévan in the exploration and discovery of
new areas of Mexico and the American Southwest contin-
ues to be debated. Th e pejorative and continued use of “Es-
tevanillo” and “Estevanico” as his name concerns scholars
who argue that, as an enslaved African, he is assigned inap-
propriate and unattractive characteristics that are intended
to rob him of his accomplishments. Many do agree that in
his trip to Cibola he was the fi rst non-native person to enter
the territory that is now New Mexico, although Spaniards
generally are given that credit.
See also: Atlantic Creoles; Hispaniola
Jane M. AldrichBibliography
Schneider, Dorothy, and Carl J. Schneider. An Eyewitness History
of Slavery in America: From Colonial Times to the Civil War.
New York: Checkmark Books, 2001.
Wright, Richard R. “Negro Companions of the Spanish Explorers.”
Phylon ( 19 40– 19 56) 2, no. 4 (1941):325–33.