Hornando+De+Soto+Matt+Wertz

Hornando De Soto

Signature of Hernando De Soto:
 * born-1496/1497-1542-died
 * born to hidalgos(spanish royalty)
 * died on the banks of the Mississippi River at present-day Lake Village, Arkansas
 * spanish explorer and conquistador
 * first European to discover the Mississippi River.
 * sailed to the New World in 1514 with the first Governor of Panama, Pedrarias Davila.
 * he gained fame as an excellent horseman, fighter, and tactician.
 * joined Pizarro with his own hired crew at his first base of Tumbez that is right before departure for the interior of Peru.
 * led an expedition up the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula searching for a passage between the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean to enable trade with the Orient, the richest market in the world, in 1530.
 * expedition was funded by the king of Spain.(Spain)
 * Pizarro made de Soto one of his captains.
 * Pizarro and his men first attacked the army of Inca Atahualpa and Cajamarca
 * Pizarro sent de Soto and 15 men to invite the Atahualpa to a meeting, but when Pizarro's men attacked Atahualpa and his guard the next day (the Battle of Cajamarca)de Soto led one of the three groups of mounted soldiers.
 * In 1533, the Spanish held Atahualpa in captivity in a room with gold and silver to confuse him, but during his captivity, de Soto became friendly with him and tought him to play "chess" too.
 * the Spanish heard of a good Incan army on Cajamarca, so de Soto and four men to scout for the rumored army.
 * the Spanish killed Atahualpa while de Soto was gone to prevent the Incan army from rescuing him, but when de Soto got back, there were no signs of an army in the area.
 * gained knowledge of geography, biology, and ethnology of the New World. De Soto's records on North American natives are the earliest-known source of information about the Southeast societies. All this knowledge led Spain to change attitude toward colonies north of Mexico, claiming areas along Pacific coast and in the area of Florida.