Hernando de Soto

Hello. My name is Hernando de Soto. I was born in a beautiful part of Spain called Extremadura around the year 1500. When I was a boy, I did not dream of being a farmer or a baker. I dreamed of adventure. I would look at maps and imagine sailing across the big, blue ocean to discover new lands, meet new people, and see amazing sights. I could not wait to grow up and become an explorer.

When I was old enough, my dream came true. I sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas. It was a long journey, but I was so excited. I learned how to be a good soldier and captain. In the 1530s, I joined other explorers on expeditions, including a famous one in Peru with a man named Francisco Pizarro. These early adventures taught me a lot and prepared me for the biggest journey of my life.

The King of Spain heard about my adventures and gave me a very important job. He made me the governor of Cuba and asked me to lead my own expedition to a huge land called La Florida. This was not just the Florida we know today; it was a giant part of North America that people from Europe had never seen before. In the year 1539, I set sail from Cuba with hundreds of soldiers, many horses, and ships full of supplies. We were all hoping to find treasures like gold, but we were also there to explore and map this new place for Spain.

Our journey through La Florida was long and very hard. For almost three years, we marched through thick forests, swampy marshes, and wide-open plains. We traveled through lands that would one day become states like Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi. Along the way, we met many different groups of Native American people. We did not find the gold we were looking for, but in 1541, we found something else, something incredible. We stood on the banks of a river so wide and powerful, it looked like a moving sea. It was the Mississippi River, and we were the first people from Europe to ever see it.

Exploring such a wild land for so long was tough on all of us. I became very sick during our travels, and my journey ended there in 1542, near the great river I had found. I lived to be about 42 years old. Even though I did not make it back to Spain, my expedition was important. My crew and I were the first Europeans to travel deep into the southeastern part of North America. The maps and stories from our journey taught people in Europe all about this part of the world, its people, and its mighty river.