Historical Context

In the conclusion of the de Soto expedition series, we begin with the burning down of the winter encampment after an attack by the local natives.  What changes does de Soto make to prepare his men for the next leg of the journey?  What similarities and differences can we draw upon this expedition versus the Narvaez expedition?  Did de Soto leave a lasting impression on the American southeast?  

Image of Hernando de Soto courtesy of: John Sartain DeSoto Map Courtesy of: By Herb Roe, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6066601 

Read Expedition by an unnamed Portuguese man attending the expedition: https://www.americanjourneys.org/pdf/AJ-021.pdf 

Read Relation of the Conquest of Florida Presented to the King of Spain in 1544: https://www.americanjourneys.org/pdf/AJ-022.pdf 

Read A Narrative of the Expedition by De Soto’s personal secretary: https://www.americanjourneys.org/pdf/AJ-023.pdf

De Soto ends up in Apalache, the same tribal village at the Narvaez expedition did a dozen years ago.  Instead of going west over water, De Soto goes north over land and continues into the Piedmont Plateau in Georgia.  For the first time, the natives in these regions are exposed to Europeans and we get a glimpse of what may be a differentiating factor in the difference in energy between the Narvaez and de Soto expeditions. 

Image of Hernando de Soto courtesy of: John Sartain 

Read Expedition by an unnamed Portuguese man attending the expedition: https://www.americanjourneys.org/pdf/AJ-021.pdf 

Read Relation of the Conquest of Florida Presented to the King of Spain in 1544: https://www.americanjourneys.org/pdf/AJ-022.pdf 

Read A Narrative of the Expedition by De Soto’s personal secretary: https://www.americanjourneys.org/pdf/AJ-023.pdf 

Read  A Letter Written by De Soto to the Justice and Board of Magistrates in Santiago, Cuba: https://www.americanjourneys.org/pdf/AJ-024.pdf

Nearly seven decades before the settlement at Jamestown was founded, Hernando de Soto led an expedition through the American southeast, visiting locations that comprise of almost every modern American southeast state.  De Soto's expedition was told best by an unnamed Portuguese sailor who wrote about the expedition.  The treatment of the natives by de Soto was consistent, but the conditions and culture of each village he visited varied greatly.  What, if anything, did de Soto leave behind as a legacy?  

Image of Hernando de Soto courtesy of: John Sartain 

Read Expedition by an unnamed Portuguese man attending the expedition: https://www.americanjourneys.org/pdf/AJ-021.pdf 

Read Relation of the Conquest of Florida Presented to the King of Spain in 1544: https://www.americanjourneys.org/pdf/AJ-022.pdf 

Read A Narrative of the Expedition by De Soto’s personal secretary: https://www.americanjourneys.org/pdf/AJ-023.pdf 

Read  A Letter Written by De Soto to the Justice and Board of Magistrates in Santiago, Cuba: https://www.americanjourneys.org/pdf/AJ-024.pdf

The expedition concludes with Cabeza de Vaca and the few European survivors on foot in modern day Texas and Mexico.  Cabeza de Vaca learns what happened to Narvaez and another barge while on his journey.  He also becomes the first European to lay eyes on the wildlife on the southern Great Plains.  How does the expedition end?  

Cabeza de Vaca image courtesy of: https://www.legendsofamerica.com/alvar-nunez-cabeza-de-vaca/ 

Fife and Drum by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3748-fife-and-drum 

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

The expedition continues from inland of Galveston Island, where Cabeza de Vaca and his men are stranded with a village of natives.  In this episode, we learn about some native customs and see that Cabeza de Vaca has an opportunity to assimilate with their culture.  What does Cabeza de Vaca decide?  

Cabeza de Vaca image courtesy of: https://www.legendsofamerica.com/alvar-nunez-cabeza-de-vaca/ 

Fife and Drum by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3748-fife-and-drum 

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

The expedition continues as Narvaez and his remaining 250 men, including Cabeza de Vaca leave the Florida coastline and head west.  As a water shortage threatens the crews' lives, desperate measures are taken to avoid dehydration and these decision lead to more deaths.  How far will the expedition go? Will the natives be friendly or hostile? Now that the Florida terrain is behind them, will the journey be more forgiving?  

Cabeza de Vaca image courtesy of: https://www.legendsofamerica.com/alvar-nunez-cabeza-de-vaca/ 

Fife and Drum by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3748-fife-and-drum 

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

With the Apalachen village in sight, the Narvaez Expedition journey resumes.  Like in the first episode, the expedition must navigate through multiple challenges and setbacks, ultimately leading to them being stranded on the Florida coastline.  How do they get off the coastline and how many men are lost in this episode?  

Cabeza de Vaca image courtesy of: https://www.legendsofamerica.com/alvar-nunez-cabeza-de-vaca/ 

Fife and Drum by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3748-fife-and-drum 

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

In what reads more like a 16th century version of Homer's "The Odyssey," our next story is so vast and intriguing that it will take several weeks to tell.  Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca was a member of the ill-fated Narvaez Expedition.  The expedition was tasked with colonizing Florida.  To put it mildly, the start of the expedition lays out several omens for future episodes.  

Cabeza de Vaca image courtesy of: https://www.legendsofamerica.com/alvar-nunez-cabeza-de-vaca/

Fife and Drum by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3748-fife-and-drum

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Verrazzano was an Italian explorer, who in 1524, set sail on behalf of France to try and find a seaway to the Far East.  He was set to look in between Florida and Newfoundland for a route.  While Verrazzano was the first documented European to set eyes on Manhattan, his interactions with the natives of the coastline are quite fascinating.  Nearly a full century before the first Thanksgiving, Verrazzano gives us a glimpse into a world absent of colonization.  

Read more on John (Giovanni) de Verrazzano: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giovanni_da_Verrazzano Verrazano 

Image courtesy of: Allegrini, Francesco (1729-17..). Graveur ;  Zocchi, Giuseppe (1711-1767). Peintre / Public domain 

Verrazzano Map courtesy of: https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immagine:Viaggioverrazzano.jpg 

Francis I photo by Jean Clouet, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=30275305 

Fife and Drum by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3748-fife-and-drum License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Juan Ponce de Leon was a member of the Second Columbus Voyage.  As the star of Columbus faded, Ponce de Leon grew in the favor of the Spanish crown and those in Hispaniola.  He was the first Governor of Puerto Rico, but was disposed after a lengthy court battle.  With nothing else to do, Ponce de Leon was encouraged to the explore land north and west of Puerto Rico.  Would Juan Ponce de Leon find something memorable?  

Read Ponce De Leon’s two patents: https://www.jstor.org/stable/44208207 

More on Juan Ponce de Leon: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Ponce_de_Le%C3%B3n 

Image of Juan Ponce de Leon: By Unknown author - http://whtime.cloudapp.net/EventDetails.aspx?e=75a51aad-303a-4158-9394-4a99267fdf71&t=/tl/chut/Juan_Ponce_de_Leon/, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=45533914 

Voyage Map by: T. Frederick Davis