The Other States of America: History Podcast

By ERIC YANISHistory

The Other States of America: History Podcast episodes

April 16, 2025 De Soto Goes West: Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana (1540-43)
Hernando De Soto came to so-called Spanish Florida on orders to plant settlements and build fortifications along the coast. Instead he chased rumors of golden empires into the interior of North America, all for nothing. In late 1540, De Soto had the option to travel to Pensacola, where his boats awaited, but decided to set out in the direction of the setting sun in search of possibilities…
53 min
April 06, 2025 De Soto Invades the Mound Builders (1540)
Hernando De Soto invades the Mississippians Chiefdoms of the South in search of gold, forgoing his orders to build a seaside colony. He begins a period of time known in the archaeological records as the Mississippian Shatter Zone, and fights the deadliest battle on American soil until the U.S. Civil War.
38 min
March 24, 2025 De Soto: Tampa Bay to Apalachee (1539-1540)
Hernando de Soto returns to Spain as one of the richest men in the Empire, from his share of the spoils toppling the Incan Empire. Now he seeks to sail to the New World once more to conquer the Natives of the land the Spanish call Florida convinced the venture will make him the richest man in the world.
35 min
January 21, 2025 Narváez and De Vaca: The Trek from Florida to Mexico (1528-1536)
From Florida to Mexico, a large force under Narváez lands at, or near, Tampa Bay in 1528, a few survivors appear in Mexico 8 years later. Along the way they were conquerors, castaways, beggars, shamans, surgeons, unwilling cult leaders and slaves. The primary account by De Vaca is a true story of transformation, or perhaps just an elaborate resume.
1 hr
December 21, 2024 San Miguel De Gauldape: A Spanish Colony in the American South (1526)
A judge named Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón meets a man from the land of Chicora who fills his head with tales of gold, pearls, domesticated deer and men with tails who only eat raw fish. De Ayllón brings the man to the King of Spain, and according to the historian Peter Martyr captivates the attention of the restless masses, 600 of whom will go with de Ayllón to the American South East.

Suggested Reading (full works cited will be presented in the season 4 endnotes episode)
Peter Martyr “Decades of the New World”
A SPANISH SETTLEMENT IN CAROLINA, 1526.By J. G. Johnson, M. A.
Lucas Vásquez de Ayllón's Doomed Colonyof San Miguel de GualdapeBy Douglas T. Peck
23 min
November 11, 2024 Ponce de León and the Idea of Spanish Florida (1513-1521)
Juan Ponce de León is more famous today for the myths that surround him rather than the man that he was. Living in a brutal time, hot on the heels of the Reconquista and the voyages of Christopher Columbus, de León will leave a mark on the island of Puerto Rico and plant the seed for Spanish Florida. A life of high risk, high reward, violent behavior that will not make de León a modern man, but will make him a household name in the modern world.

26 min
October 28, 2024 Etowah and Coosa: The Moundbuilders of Georgia (c.800-1567)
Before the Age of Exploration the Mississippian Chiefdoms in North America vied for influence, cultivated vast stretches of land, created Hierarchies and elevated their leaders to sem-divine figures honored with massive earthen mounds. The Chiefdoms of Etowah and Coosa in modern day North-Western Georgia, had influence and reputation from the gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes, and are a source of pride for the Muskogean peoples today.
Image Sources:
Maps and Artwork: The Superb Herb Roe, Creative Commons.
Images: Georgia Department of Natural Resources https://gastateparks.org/etowahindianmounds
30 min
October 17, 2024 Season 4: The New Old South
Season four of The Other States of America: History Podcast.
3 min
October 11, 2024 Vice President John Tyler: Our Vices #10
The Vice Presidency of John Tyler. Our Vices is the post-season show of The Other States of America: History Podcast.
11 min
October 10, 2024 Vice President Richard Mentor Johnson: Our Vices #9
The Vice Presidency of Richard Mentor Johnson. Our Vices is the post-season show of The Other States of America: History Podcast.
14 min

About The Other States of America: History Podcast

From the publisher's feed

American History is far more complicated than a yearlong High School class could ever teach you. This podcast will tell you the rest of that story, focusing on colonies you've never heard of, that may…