Hernando de Soto

Hernando de Soto
Anglo-American artist's impression of Hernando de Soto, published in 1858
Born27 October, c. 1500[1]: 135 
Jerez de los Caballeros, Crown of Castile
Died(1542-05-21)21 May 1542 (aged about 41)
Guachoya on the bank of the Mississippi River
Occupation(s)Explorer and conquistador
SpouseIsabel de Bobadilla
Signature

Hernando de Soto (/də ˈsoʊtoʊ/;[2] Spanish: [eɾˈnando ðe ˈsoto]; c. 1497 – 21 May 1542) was a Spanish explorer and conquistador who was involved in expeditions in Nicaragua and the Yucatan Peninsula. He played an important role in Francisco Pizarro's conquest of the Inca Empire in Peru, but is best known for leading the first European expedition deep into the territory of the modern-day United States (through Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, Mississippi, and most likely Arkansas).[3][4] He is the first European documented as having crossed the Mississippi River.[5]

De Soto's North American expedition was a vast undertaking. It ranged throughout what is now the southeastern United States, searching both for gold, which had been reported by various Native American tribes and earlier coastal explorers, and for a passage to China or the Pacific coast. De Soto died in 1542 on the banks of the Mississippi River;[6] sources disagree on the exact location, whether it was what is now Lake Village, Arkansas, or Ferriday, Louisiana.

Although the scribe (Garcilaso) and the translator (Hakluyt) took different approaches regarding the presentation of de Soto's voyage, both intellectuals took unofficial accounts and instilled them with authority for the benefit of their respective empires. Their writings created overlapping yet distinct portrayals of de Soto’s expedition, shaped by each author’s cultural and political context[7].

  1. ^ Leon, P., 1998, The Discovery and Conquest of Peru: Chronicles of the New World Encounter, edited and translated by Cook and Cook, Durham: Duke University Press, ISBN 978-0822321460
  2. ^ "De Soto". Collins English Dictionary.
  3. ^ Blanton, Dennis B. (2020). Conquistador's Wake: Tracking the Legacy of Hernando de Soto in the Indigenous Southeast. University of Georgia Press. ISBN 978-0-8203-5637-2.
  4. ^ Hudson, Charles (15 January 2018). Knights of Spain, Warriors of the Sun: Hernando de Soto and the South's Ancient Chiefdoms. University of Georgia Press. ISBN 978-0-8203-5290-9.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Morison1974 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ "De Soto dies in the American wilderness". 9 February 2010. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  7. ^ Andrango-Walker, Catalina (31 July 2024). "Recovering the Written Traces of Hernando de Soto's Voyage to La Florida". Journal of Early Modern Studies. 13. doi:10.36253/jems-2279-7149-15260. ISSN 2279-7149.
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