Title: Mr. Nussbaum - Hernando de Soto Biography
Headings: Hernando de Soto Biography
Hernando de Soto Biography
Hernando de Soto
Early Life
Glory and Conquest
Into the Southeast in Search of Gold
Discovery of the Mississippi River
Questionable Legacy

Content: He chose 620 men for the voyage from Cuba to the interior of North America. De Soto hoped to find the passage from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. Into the Southeast in Search of Gold
In May of 1539, de Soto, 620 men, and 220 horses landed at Charlotte Harbor, Florida. He named it Espíritu Santo after the Holy Spirit. The expedition then traveled north through the peninsula of Florida where they endured native ambushes along the way. By 1540, de Soto had reached Georgia and South Carolina in pursuit of gold mines rumored to exist in the region. Unsuccessful in his attempts to find gold, de Soto continued north into the Appalachians of North Carolina. Once again, there was no gold to be found, but de Soto spent a month in the mountains resting his horses before traveling to Tennessee and then south again toward the Gulf of Mexico to meet supply ships. While traveling south, de Soto and his men were ambushed by the Choctaw people near their fortified city of Mabila. In the battle, twenty of de Soto’s men were killed and thousands of Choctaw died.