About 25% of cowboys were African Americans in the American West. Hispanic cowboys or vaqueros served as the basis for the American cowboy. The Spanish colonization of Mexico and much of the American Southwest beginning in the 16th century meant that the original landowners used Native Americans and Hispanic cowboys as cattlemen to handle the large livestock ranches that emerged in the region. Vaqueros played a dominant role in the cattle industry up through the mid-1800's.
employed about 63 percent white, 25 percent black, and 12 percent Mexican or Mexican-American cowboys.
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