Hernando de Soto’s expedition into the interior of North America
The force of the conquistador Hernando de Soto spent four years searching for gold in what is now the southeastern United States and was the first European party to cross the Mississippi; de Soto died on the march, and the survivors made their way to Mexico.
- Date
- 30 May 1539 – September 1543start: exact date; end: month known · duration: ≈ 4 yearsDate in the Julian calendar
- Place
- Tampa Bay (presumed landing site)approximate locationtoday: Florida, USA · North America
- Route
- Havana → Tampa Bay (presumed landing site) → Anhaica — the Apalachee capital (first winter camp) → Cofitachequi → Joara → Coosa → Mabila → Chicaza (second winter camp) → Crossing of the Mississippi → Tula lands (western Arkansas) → Guachoya (where de Soto died) → Moscoso’s march west (Texas) → Down the Mississippi → Mouth of the Mississippi → Gulf of Mexico coast → Pánuco
- Participants
- Hernando de Soto, Spanish Empire
- Threads
- Age of Discovery and the New World
- Also known as
- Экспедиция де Сото; Открытие Миссисипи
Governor of Cuba and a veteran of the conquest of the Inca Empire, de Soto landed in Florida on 30 May 1539 with nine ships, more than 600 men and 220 horses. The Spaniards marched through what are now Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, Tennessee and Alabama, seizing supplies and porters from the Native Americans by force; in the battle at the fortified town of Mabila in 1540 thousands of Native Americans were killed. On 8 May 1541 the expedition reached the Mississippi and, having built flat-bottomed boats, crossed to its western bank.
On 21 May 1542 de Soto died of fever on the banks of the Mississippi. His successor, Luis de Moscoso, tried to reach Mexico overland through Texas, returned to the river, built boats and in the summer of 1543 sailed down it to the sea; in September about 300 survivors reached Pánuco. The chronicles of the expedition are the earliest description of the Native American chiefdoms of the Mississippian culture. The route is shown approximately: as far as Mabila it can be reconstructed with reasonable confidence, but beyond that it is disputed.
Connections
Related events
- Battle of Cajamarca16 November 1532 · Latin Americade Soto was one of Pizarro’s captains: at Cajamarca he was the first to meet Atahualpa
Same participants
- Cortes of Tomar: Philip II becomes King of PortugalApril 1581 · Western and Central Europevia Spanish Empire
Adjacent events in the thread
- Jacques Cartier’s second voyage — up the Saint Lawrence River19 May 1535 – 16 July 1536 · North America
- Portuguese on Tanegashima — the first Europeans in Japan1543 · East Asia
Meanwhile in the world
Other regions, within 5 years of this event
Western and Central Europe
Eastern Europe
- Coronation of Ivan IV as tsar16 January 1547
Middle East and Egypt
- Capture of Baghdad by Suleiman Ibetween November and December 1534
Africa
- Ethiopian–Adal WarMarch 1529 – 21 February 1543
East Asia
Southeast Asia and Oceania
The same period
Sources
- Wikipedia (English): Hernando de Soto
- Wikipedia (Russian): Сото, Эрнандо де (конкистадор)
- Hudson C. Knights of Spain, Warriors of the Sun: Hernando de Soto and the South's Ancient Chiefdoms. — Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1997.