A Letter From Hernando De Soto (2024)

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What did Hernando de Soto discover in 1541 responses? ›

This engraving depicts Hernando de Soto's discovery of the Mississippi River at a point below Natchez on May 8, 1541. De Soto (1500–1542) was the first European to document the river. The image shows him and his men approaching the river and a group of Native Americans camped there.

Hernando de Soto was a Spanish explorer who led an expedition into the southern United States. He and his soldiers were the first Europeans to set foot in what is now Arkansas. Four written accounts of the expedition provide details about his trek through the state.

De Soto's expedition led the Spanish crown to reconsider Spain's attitude toward the colonies north of Mexico. He claimed large parts of North America for Spain. The Spanish concentrated their missions in the state of Florida and along the Pacific coast.

Hernando de Soto is famous in Latin American history as the Spanish conquistador who joined Francisco Pizarro in the invasion of the Inca Empire, but he is also a critical player in American history as the first European to discover the Mississippi River.

Downey, a former C.I.A. agent who became the longest-serving American prisoner of war by surviving more than 20 years in Chinese prisons after he was shot down over Manchuria in 1952, died on Monday at a hospice in Branford, Conn. He was 84. His family announced the death.

The Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto (c. 1500-1542) landed on the west coast of Florida on 30 May 1539, hoping to find wealthy kingdoms to conquer and plunder. His crew journeyed for over four years in southeastern North America, savaging the local peoples, but ultimately returned home empty-handed.

His expedition explored most of the Southeast following a much-debated route. It experienced problems with the Native Americans, spread devastating diseases, and failed to find treasure. De Soto died in 1542 during the course of the expedition, which Luis de Moscoso brought back to Mexico during 1543.

Hernando de Soto's Expedition through the Southeast

His goal was to conquer and settle the territory of the Gulf States as well as find gold to enrich himself and his king.

Before his death, he turned over his command to Luis de Moscoso Alvarado. Because he had told the Native Americans that he was an immortal sun god (as a trick to gain their submission without conflict), his men concealed his death and buried his body in the middle of the Mississippi River during the night.

It shows Spanish conquistador and explorer Hernando De Soto (1500–1542), riding a white horse and dressed in Renaissance finery, arriving at the Mississippi River at a point below Natchez on May 8, 1541. De Soto was the first European documented to have seen the river.

What years did Hernando de Soto discover? ›

In May 1539, Governor Hernando de Soto landed in Florida with 620 men and 220 horses. By 1540, the conquistadors were making their way along the coast of Georgia, South and North Carolina, and into the Ridge and Valley Province of Tennessee, northwest Georgia, and north Alabama looking for gold.

Exploration of southern North America

In April 1538 de Soto embarked from the port of Sanlúcar de Barrameda in command of 10 ships and 700 men. After a brief stop in Cuba, the expedition landed in May 1539 on the coast of Florida, at a point somewhere between present-day Tampa Bay and Charlotte Harbor.

Written records about life in Florida began with the arrival of the Spanish explorer and adventurer Juan Ponce de León in 1513. Sometime between April 2 and April 8, Ponce de León waded ashore on the northeast coast of Florida, possibly near present-day St. Augustine.