Title: De Soto’s discovery of the Mississippi, 1541 | Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
Headings: De Soto’s discovery of the Mississippi, 1541
De Soto’s discovery of the Mississippi, 1541
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Content: De Soto’s discovery of the Mississippi, 1541 | Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
De Soto’s discovery of the Mississippi, 1541
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De Soto's Discovery of the Mississippi, 1541. ( Johnson, Fry & Co., 1858). ( Gilder Lehrman Collection)
In 1539, Hernando de Soto led the first major European expedition into the interior of the southeastern North America, an area then known as "La Florida." De Soto landed near Tampa Bay, Florida, with more than 600 men, and hoped to find riches in North America like the gold and silver other Spanish explorers had discovered in Central and South America. De Soto and his men explored the present area of Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, and Arkansas, often clashing with native tribes. In spring 1542, de Soto died of a fever. His men attempted to find a land route through Texas to Mexico but were forced to turn back by dwindling supplies. In June 1543, they sailed down the Mississippi River in seven boats, which sailed into the Gulf of Mexico six weeks later with 311 surviving Spaniards and an unknown number of Indian slaves. This engraving depicts Hernando de Soto’s discovery of the Mississippi River at a point below Natchez on May 8, 1541. De Soto (1500–1542) was the first European to document the river.