de Soto

Hernando de Soto (1496 or 1500, Jerez de los Caballeros, Extremadura - 21 May 1542, probably on the Mississippi river, some distance downstream from Memphis, Tennessee) was a Spanish navigator and conquistador. He participated at the conquest of Panama, Nicaragua and - on the side of Francisco Pizarro - Peru. Later he led the largest expeditions of the 16th and 17th century into the southeast of today's USA.

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 Childhood and Youth 

De Soto's date of birth is not assured. In 1535, he described himself as "approximately 35 years old", in 1536 however already as "around 40". As he began his journey for the New World in 1514 according to good sources, and as fourteen was a common age to leave the parent's home in former Spain, this speaks in favour of the year of birth 1500. De Soto was the second son of a total of four children of Francisco Mendez de Soto and Leonor Arias Tinoco. His father was of the landed gentry, and Hernando could not hope to inherit a part of the small assets of his father. His precedessors were hidalgos and lower noblemen. Most known among these was Pedro Ruiz de Soto, who reconquered Sevilla from the Moors during the Reconquista. De Soto grew up in the meagre and hard-fought border regions to the muslim kingdom of Granada, the Extremadura. A Spanish proverb describes this area as "nine months of winter and three months of hell". Several spanish conquistadors like Hernán Cortés, Francisco Pizarro and Vasco Núñez de Balboa also originate from here.

Travels and Career

In 1514, de Soto accompanied Pedrarias Davila into the Spanish colonies and landed in Panama. His only possessions then were a shield and his sword. In 1516, he became commander of an equistrian unit and went with Francisco Fernandez de Cordoba on his discovery and colonialism voyages across Nicaragua and Honduras. De Soto gained a fame as excellent rider, fighter and tactician, and for his extreme brutality and ruthlessness when dealing with the natives. In a conflict over the supremacy in Nicaragua, de Soto fought for Davila against Gil Dávida Gonzales. Gonzales, an ex-officer of Davila, had tried to break away from him. De Soto denunciated the treason and beat Gonzales' army. In the consequence, Davilas leadership was secured and de Soto gained his favour. In 1528 he led on his own an expedition along the coast of Yucatan, hoping to find a direct connection by sea between the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean.

He gained his wealth mostly by dealing with slaves. At this time, he already owned large areas of land in the Spanish colonies, gold mines, and trade ships. Apparently though, he aimed to achieve a similar success like Hernán Cortés defeating the Aztec empire.

Thereupon he accompanied Francisco Pizarro as his direct representative on his venture against Peru and explored the country. De Soto discovered the city of Cajas, where his men raped the sacred virgins in the Temple of the Sun. With a group of 50 men, he discovered the road to the capital of the Inka empire Cuzco and became the first European to talk to the Inka king Atahualpa. After that the king had been arrested, he often visited him in jail and a friendship between the two men emerged. When the Andes were to be redistributed among the conquistadors, de Soto became furious and disunited with Pizarro. He returned to Spain in 1536, taking with him approx. 100.000 golden pesos - his share of the conquer of the Inka kingdom. At this time, de Soto was famous for being the hero of the battle of Cuzco. He settled in Sevilla, where he married in 1537 Inés de Bobadilla, the daughter of Davila. She came from one of the most respectable families of Castilia, with good connections to the Spanish court. This time was the summit of de Sotos reputation and wealth.

De Soto, having seen the legendary resources in Peru and read a report written by Cabeza de Vaca, suspected a similar wealth in Florida. Vaca was one out of four survivors of the desastrous attempt of Pánfilo de Narváez to conquer Florida. In Narváez' ill-fated expedition only four men survived of 400. De Soto saw his chance coming to second Pizarro's and Cortez' famous conquests. He let himself declare the governor of Cuba y adelante de La Florida (meaning: all lands north of Mexico) by Emperor Charles V. De Soto sold all of his goods and equipped an expedition into the unexplored lands. His mission was to conquer, to settle and to "pacify" the unknown territories.

Expedition to Florida 1538-1542

1538 - On his way to Cuba

After a short stop on the Canary Islands, de Soto first headed towards Cuba. The city of Havana had just shortly before his arrival been plundered and burnt down by French pirates. De Soto let his men rebuild the city, while he continued gathering resources, horses and men for his expedition to Florida. In May 1539, he landed with approximately 600 to 700 men, 24 priests, nine ships and 220 horses on the eastern coast of Florida, at Tampa Bay. He named the place Espiritu Santo after the Holy Ghost. De Soto's aim was to colonialize the area, preferably from the center of a city like Cuzco or Mexico City. Therefore, he brought several tons of equipment, tools, arms, cannons, dogs and pigs. Especially the dogs - mostly Irish wolfhounds - became notorious weapons and punishment instruments for the army. In addition to the sailors, the ships brought priests, blacksmiths, craftsmen, engineers, farmers and merchants. Few of them had ever before travelled outside Spain, or even their home village.

At a similar time, the Mexican vice king Antonio de Mendez sent an expedition under Francisco Vásquez de Coronado along the coast of the Pacific, into the territories of today's California. Soto feared for his claims on La Florida. During the whole of his travels, he felt to be under the pressure to first discover the legendary treasures and appropriate settling grounds.

The exact course of de Soto's expedition is subject to discussions among historians and local politicians. The primary source are journals left by the Spaniards. Aside from the usual precaution that has to be applied to such sources, particular problems have to be considered in de Soto's expedition. The Spaniards were ignorant of the lay of the lands. Their communication with the natives often had to pass a chain of interpreters, so that names and toponymes could have been written down incorrectly. Additionally, many leaders and contacts had their own interests in leading the expedition in the wrong directions. Archeological reconstructions and the recourse on the oral history of the natives have only lately been considered. However, this bears the handicap that most historical places have been overbuilt and more than 450 years of lived history have passed between the incidence and its narration.

The most widespread version, which is also taught in US-american schools recurs on a report of the United States Congress under the lead management by anthropologist John R. Swanton from the year 1939. While the first part of the course until the battle at Mabila is only disputed in details, the meandering route of the later voyage remains largely unclear. The Spaniards were disoriented and had almost no equipment left which could have served as indications for the archeologists. The commonly assumed De Soto Trail runs in a west-nordwest direction across the US states Mississippi, Arkansas and Oklahoma until Texas. Other opinions argue for a northern route across Kentucky and Indiana to the Great Lakes.

1539 - Landing in Florida

Beginning at the Espiritu Santo, de Soto explored Florida and large parts of southern USA. Already in Florida, his misfortune took its beginning. Instead of being full of gold, the country was full of swamps, mosquitos and extremely sweltry. Also, the indios he brought with him raised the anger of the native tribes.

Thi natives had made bad experiences with the earlier expedition of Pánfilo de Narváez. The appeareance of de Sotos troops was not less brutal. They tried to capture Indians as worker and guides, raped the women and children and looted the villages on their search for food for men and horses. Most often, he let the villages burn down and set up a Christian cross on the sacred places of the Indians. Next to slaves and guides, the Spaniards often captured the tribes' chieftains in order to gain safe conduct.

The most important helper of the troops was Juan Ortiz, who came to Florida with the Narvaez expedition and was captured by the Uzica. He survived captivity and torture, and joined at the first oppotunity the new Spanish expedition. He knew the countryside and also helped as interpreter. Another important guide was the 17-year-old boy Perico from todays Georgia, who spoke several of the languages of the local tribes and could communicate with Ortiz. Perico was engaged as a guide in 1540 and treated better than the rest of the slaves, due to his value to the Spaniards. The first winter encampment of the expedition took place in Anheica, the capital of the Apalachee, close to Lake Tallahas. This is the only place on the entire route where the archeologists agree that de Sotos expedition effectively has been.

1540 - To the North, The battle of Mauvila

The expedition ventured along the eastern Appalaches and left a trail of destruction. Sometimes they traded some of the pigs they brought along against food, sometimes they tried to get what they needed by force. They crossed today's states of Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina. Having heard of the famous gold treasure of the Cofitachequi and accompanied by their enemies, the Ocute, the expedition continued on until today's Carolina. During weeks of marches with hunger and thirst, they realised that neither Perico nor the Ocute knew their way through the territories of the Cofitachequi. Nonetheless, in the middle of may, they discovered the capital of the tribe, close to today's city of Camden, South Carolina. The Spaniards were received in a relatively friendly manner - especially considering that they looted and pillaged several villages of the Cofitachequi on their way. However, they demanded to see the gold at once. Upon closer examination, the "gold" emerged as simple copper. The Spaniards found some pearls and weapons in the city, took the young and charismatic female leader as a hostage and ventured on on their search for wealth to across today's states of Carolina, Georgia and Alabama.

On their further erratic migrations, they were led by wrong promises of giant gold reserves in the east. In northern Alabama, they stumbled upon the city of Mauvila (or Mabila). The Choctaw tribe under chieftain Tascalusa ambushed them on the central place of the strongly fortified city. The Spaniards managed to fight their way, then attacked the city over and over again. In a battle of nine hours, 20 Spaniards died, almost all were wounded and 20 more died during the next days. All Choctaw warriors in the area, between 2000 and 6000, died fighting, in the fires, by executions or suicide. Mauvila was burnt down. Even though the Spaniards won the battle, they lost most of their possessions and 40 horses. They were wounded, sickened and almost without equipment in an unknown territory, surrounded by enemies. With the battle of Mauvila, the natives' respect for the expedition also decreased. The Spaniards were attacked more and more often by guerillas and in the open. While his men had lost their hopes, and now only wanted to reach the coast to meet ships that were expected to come from Cuba, de Soto still strived for new discoveries. The expedition overwintered in Chicasa in today's state of Mississippi.

1541 - meeting the chickasaw tribe

The expedition returned upcountry to the north, where they met shortly thereafter the Chickasaw tribe. Soto demanded 200 men as porters what is a porter? from the Chickasaw. They denied his claim and attacked the Spanish camp during the night. Again, the Spaniards lost about 40, and the remainders of their equipment. According to participating chronists, the expedition could have been destroyed. Luckily for the trek, the Chickasaw let them go, intimidated by their own success. On 8 May 1541, de Sotos troops reached the Mississippi. It is unclear whether he, as it is claimed, was the first European to see the great river. Yet, he is the first to document this fact in official reports. De Soto was less interested in this finding though, but recognised first of all an obstacle to his hunt for success. He and 400 men had to cross the broad, vivid river, which was constantly patrolled by natives. After about one month and the construction of several floats, they finally crossed the Mississippi and continued their travel westwards through today's states of Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas. They overwintered in Autiamique on the Arkansas river.

1542 - De Soto's death

After a harsh winter, which even brought snow to these areas, the Spanish trek decamped and moved on more and more erratically. By then, the last Spaniard who was remotely familiar with the place, Juan Ortiz, had died. Eventually, the Spaniards returned to the Mississippi. On the banks of this river, de Soto died on 25 June 1542 to a fever. Since he had propagated among the natives the myth that Christians were immortal, his men had to conceal the event of his Death. They hid his corpse in blankets weighted with sand and sank it in the river. While Spain and Portugal could have been crossed by a trained wanderer in less than one month, de Sotos expedition roamed through La Florida without finding the treasures or a place to begin with their colonialisation. His men aborted the expedition. After one more year of meandering they finally reached Spanish territory in Mexico via the Mississippi and the Gulf of Mexico. On their return journey they were heavily attacked by the Natchez and other tribes who had united against the Spaniards. Out of the initial 700 participants, 311 found their way home.

After effects

De Sotos excursion to Florida was, from his view and the view of his men, above all a deadly disaster. They acquired neither gold nor prosperity and founded no colonies. The reputation of the expedition at this time was more that of Don Quijote than that of Hernán Cortés. Nonetheless it had several consequences.

On the one hand, the expedition left its traces in the travelled areas themselves. Some of the horses that eloped or were stolen formed the cadre of the north american mustangs. De Soto was instrumental in forming the aggressive and hostile relationship between natives and Europeans. More devastating than the gory battles however were the diseases carried by the members of the expedition. Several areas he crossed were basically depopulated. Many of the natives fled the cities struck by the illnesses towards the surrounding hills and swamps. The social structures of the population at the time were fundamentally changed.

On the second hand, the records of the expedition contributed large parts to the geographic, biologic and ethnologic knowledge in Europe. Especially the description of the natives are the first known source of the societies in southeastern USA. They are de facto the only European description of their habits before the encounter with other Europeans. De Sotos men were at the same time the first and the last Europeans to experience the prime of the Mississippi culture. De Sotos expedition also led the Spanish crown to reconsider their attitude towards their colonies north of Mexico. De jure, he created a claim on large parts of the USA for the Spaniards, while their missions de facto concentrated mainly on the state of Florida and the pacific coast.

The US counties De Soto County in Mississippi and Hernando County in Florida are named after Hernando de Soto. The place of his disembarkation, Espiritu Santo, is located in Hernando County. In De Soto County he allegedly died. Since 1948, the De Soto National Memorial exists near the city of St. Petersburg, Florida. Several other cities and a car model are named after him.

Literature

• Garcilaso de la Vega, Historia del adelantado H. de S. (Madr. 1723).
• Young, Gloria A. and Michael Hoffmann: The Expedition of Hernando de Soto West of the Mississippi, 1541-1543: Proceedings of the de Soto Symposia, 1988 and 1990 University of Arkansas Press 1999 ISBN 1557285802
• Duncan, David Ewing: Hernando de Soto: A Savage Quest in the Americas; University of Oklahoma Press 1997. ISBN 0806129778
• Milanich, Jeralt T., Charles R. Ewen and John H. Hann: Hernando de Soto Among the Apalachee: The Archaeology of the First Winter Encampment; University Press of Florida, 1998. ISBN 081301557X
• Clayton, Lawrence A. Clayton, Vernon J. Knight and Edward C. Moore (Editor): The de Soto Chronicles: The Expedition of Hernando de Soto to North America in 1539-1543; University of Alabama Press 1996. ISBN 0817308245
• Swanton, John: Final Report of the United States: De Soto Expedition Commission; Prentice Hall & IBD 1987.

External links

• De Soto Memorial in Florida (http://www.nps.gov/deso/)
• Map of the expedition route (http://www.cr.nps.gov/seac/beneathweb/ch10/m13.jpg)
• De Sotos youth (http://www.floridahistory.com/spain-in-america.html)
• Report on the research to reconstruct the route of the expedition (http://muweb.millersville.edu/~columbus/data/ark/COUGHLN1.ARK)
• Detailed justification of an alternate expedition route to the Great Lakes (http://www.floridahistory.com/inset33.html)
• Map of the alternate expedition route (http://www.floridahistory.com/inset78m.html)