Hernando de Soto
Was born around 1500 in the Extremadura in Spain as a hidalgo. With 14 he went to the New World fighting and plundering with the Conquistadores Pedro Arias de Avila and Pizarro. He got a big deal of the gold and silver when the Empire of the Inca fell. But most of his fortune he had with 30 years derived from slave trade. All Indians they encountered were shipped to the plantations in the Caribbean and sold.In the year 1537 he got a capitulacion from Carlos V. (Karl V.). During 4 years he had the right to explore La Florida where he arrived on the 25th of May 1539 in the mangrove swamps with estimated 650 companions, 220 horses, a bunch of pigs, some dozens Mastiffs (combat dogs which tore the guts out of the Indians), Irish Wolfhounds, Greyhounds and other combat dogs for man hunting.
For 3 years he left a track of devastation on his march, killing, raping, torturing.
Around 1,3 million Indians were living in the southeast of the USA at this time. Splitted into many tribes, different languages, waging war against each other. The biggest cities inhabitated about 2000 to 4000 people.
The worst battle raged in Mabila in October 1540, where around 5000 warriors had gathered. 300 Spaniards killed around 3000 of them and had only 22 casualties and 148 wounded.
1542 de Soto died of a disease at the Mississippi. Half of his gang had died, too, in the meantime.
Most of the Indians died of diseases unknown before afterwards and their culture and traditions vanished.
Comments (4)
A good blog,
this is really good...and the most beautiful thing is
that they did all the killing and raping and stealing
in the name of God.
The Conquistadores stole that gold from them, Spain has no right whatsoever to those treasures under the sea.