Home > Hernando de Soto (explorer)
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. 1 Childhood and Youth
De Soto's date of birth is not assured. In 1535, he described himself as "approximately 35 years old", in 1536Events February 2 Spaniard Pedro de Mendoza founds Buenos Aires, Argentina. May 19 Execution of Anne Boleyn May 30 Henry VIII of England marries Jane Seymour October 13 The Pilgrimage of Grace, a rebellion in York, is "resolved" by Robert Aske October 29 however already as "around 40". As he began his journey for the New WorldThe New World is one of the names used for the continents of North and South America and adjacent islands collectively, in use since the 16th century. The continents were new to the Europeans, who knew the world consisting only of Europe, Asia, and Africa in 1514Events March Louis XII of France makes peace with Emperor Maximilian. July Peace between England and France. Albrecht Durer makes his famous engraving Melancholia I''. Births March 8 Amago Haruhisa, Japanese samurai and warlord Shimazu Takahisa, Japanese 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 hidalgoHidalgo can mean: A traditional title of a person of nobility or gentry in the Spanish language, derived from Hijo de algo "Son of someone". Miguel Hidalgo, father of the independence of Mexico. Hidalgo State, a state in central Mexico. Hidalgo (movie) sts and lower noblemen. Most known among these was Pedro Ruiz de Soto , who reconquered Sevilla from the MoorsMoors is used in this article to describe the medieval Muslim inhabitants of al-Andalus and the Maghreb, whose culture is often called "Moorish". For other meanings look at Moors (Meaning) or Blackamoors. The name derives from the ancient Berber tribe of during the ReconquistaThe Reconquista ( Spanish and Portuguese for reconquest was the conquest of the Moorish kingdoms of Spain and Portugal by Christian rulers, culminating on January 2, 1492 when Ferdinand and Isabella, Los Reyes Catolicos ("The Catholic Monarchs"), expelled.
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.
2 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 disastrous 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.
