Title: Soto, Hernando de | Encyclopedia.com
Headings: Soto, Hernando de
Soto, Hernando de
Hernando de Soto
Goes to the Americas
Longs for adventure
Enslaves Native Americans
Follows visions of gold

Content: Together the two men led their expedition through the Andes Mountains to meet Inca ruler Atahualpa (c. 1497–1533). Although the Inca had an army of 40,000, the Spanish tricked them, capturing and eventually killing Atahualpa, after taking his abundant treasures of gold. They went on to destroy the Inca empire forever. Longs for adventure
De Soto's share of the Incan treasures made him a rich and famous man. He returned to Spain temporarily, but longed to be back in the New World. The Spanish king made him governor of Cuba and captain-general of Florida, which had been initially explored by Juan Ponce de León in 1513. De Soto's mission was to explore the entire region of the present-day southeastern United States, start settlements, and conquer and convert the native peoples to Christianity. For de Soto, though, the most important thing was to find gold. De Soto left Spain in 1538 with an army of six hundred men and two hundred horses. They landed on the site of present-day Tampa Bay, Florida , in May 1539.