Hernando de Soto “Glory be to God, who by His goodness has directed all.” A quote from a letter written by Hernando de Soto (Letter to Justice and Board of Magistrates in Santiago de Cuba, 3). God guided his entire life. Much progress in America’s history was made during de Soto’s early life, conquests in Central America, and expeditions in the New World. Not much information is known about Hernando de Soto’s early childhood, but there is an abundance of knowledge on his teenage and young-adult years. He was born in approximately 1500 in Jerez de los Caballeros, Spain (The American Scene, 27). De Soto grew up in a manor house with his mother, his father, and his three siblings (Juan Méndez de Soto, Maria de Soto, and Catalina de Soto,
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Not yet content with his riches, de Soto became determined to explore the New World. King Charles V requested that de Soto conquer La Florida, and named him governor of Cuba, making that his headquarters. He set sail sometime in 1538, landing on the banks of Tampa Bay in May 1539. The mighty army set off to explore Florida and soon crossed the Ocala River and made their way to the area where Gainesville is located today. Hernando de Soto was stopped, however, by Vitachuco, the ruler of the area. Vitachuco sinisterly led Hernando de Soto and his men into a trap. He planned to kill them off, but because of the European’s horses and advanced weaponry, de Soto emerged victorious. Heading north, they wintered in the town of Apalachee (Tallahassee). When the winter ended in March 1540, the troops continued northward. They reached central Mississippi in December of 1540, where they wintered again. Upon the arrival of spring, they began marching, this time taking a more northwest route. In May 1541, de Soto spotted an enormous river, the great Mississippi, slightly south of the area that is now known as Memphis, Tennessee (First Encounters: Spanish Explorations in the Caribbean and the United States 1492-1570, 88). Upon seeing this, he ordered his men to stop. They built rafts and barges and crossed the river, marching east for the next ten months through the latter-day states of Oklahoma, Louisiana, Texas, and Arkansas before returning to the river. On May 14, 1542, Hernando de Soto became very ill with a fever (possibly malaria) and, foreseeing death, turned over command of the expedition to Luis de Moscoso (Trailblazer of the American Southeast, 5-70). He died on May 21, 1542 (First Encounters: Spanish Explorations in the Caribbean and the United States, 1492-1570). Since the Native Americans thought that de Soto was immortal (a god), the remaining men threw his
Not yet content with his riches, de Soto became determined to explore the New World. King Charles V requested that de Soto conquer La Florida, and named him governor of Cuba, making that his headquarters. He set sail sometime in 1538, landing on the banks of Tampa Bay in May 1539. The mighty army set off to explore Florida and soon crossed the Ocala River and made their way to the area where Gainesville is located today. Hernando de Soto was stopped, however, by Vitachuco, the ruler of the area. Vitachuco sinisterly led Hernando de Soto and his men into a trap. He planned to kill them off, but because of the European’s horses and advanced weaponry, de Soto emerged victorious. Heading north, they wintered in the town of Apalachee (Tallahassee). When the winter ended in March 1540, the troops continued northward. They reached central Mississippi in December of 1540, where they wintered again. Upon the arrival of spring, they began marching, this time taking a more northwest route. In May 1541, de Soto spotted an enormous river, the great Mississippi, slightly south of the area that is now known as Memphis, Tennessee (First Encounters: Spanish Explorations in the Caribbean and the United States 1492-1570, 88). Upon seeing this, he ordered his men to stop. They built rafts and barges and crossed the river, marching east for the next ten months through the latter-day states of Oklahoma, Louisiana, Texas, and Arkansas before returning to the river. On May 14, 1542, Hernando de Soto became very ill with a fever (possibly malaria) and, foreseeing death, turned over command of the expedition to Luis de Moscoso (Trailblazer of the American Southeast, 5-70). He died on May 21, 1542 (First Encounters: Spanish Explorations in the Caribbean and the United States, 1492-1570). Since the Native Americans thought that de Soto was immortal (a god), the remaining men threw his