Hernando de Soto

1500-1542

Place of Birth: Jerez de los Caballeros, Spain

Biography:

Explorer and conquistador Hernando de Soto was born c. 1500 to a noble but poor family in Jerez de los Caballeros, Spain. He was raised at the family manor. A generous patron named Pedro Arias Dávila funded de Soto's education at the University of Salamanca. De Soto's family hoped he would become a lawyer, but he told his father he would rather explore the West Indies.

In accordance with his wish, the young de Soto was invited to join Dávila, governor of Darién, on his 1514 expedition to the West Indies. An excellent horseman, de Soto was appointed captain of a cavalry exploration troop. Setting out from Panama to Nicaragua and later Honduras, de Soto quickly proved his worth as an explorer and trader, reaping large profits through his bold and commanding exchanges with the natives.(from the minds of Biography.com)

Legacy:

Although no gold was found and no colonies created, the records from the expedition increased European knowledge of the geography of the New World, as well as information on the indigenous peoples. These accounts are the only European description of North American native habits and culture of the Southeast before the influence of Europeans. 

Due to the failure to find wealth within the continent, Spain chose to concentrate on Florida, the Pacific coast and southern portions of the New World.

De Soto’s men instigated most of the attacks with the native peoples, leading to long-lasting mistrust and hostility between the natives and European settlers.

The indigenous peoples encountered by de Soto and his men were exposed to European diseases for which they had no immunity, such as measles, smallpox and the chicken pox, causing massive loss of life among the Native Americans. (from the minds of exploration.marinermuseum)