Hernando De Soto

Hernando De Soto

Biography, Timeline & Facts about the famous explorer, explorations & voyages in the Age of Exploration

Short Biography of the life of Hernando De Soto - Spanish Conquistador and Explorer
The following biography information provides basic facts about the life Hernando De Soto:

• Nationality - Spanish

• Lifespan - 1500 - 1542

• Family - Second son of a Spanish hidalgo - a cross between a medieval knight and a country squire

• Education - Educated to the age of 14 befitting the middle class status of his family

• Career - Spanish Conquistador and Explorer

• Famous as : the first European to explore Florida and South East America

Facts, Timeline & History about the life of Hernando De Soto - Spanish Conquistador and Explorer
The following are additional facts and a timeline about the life and history of Hernando De Soto:

• 1500: Hernando De Soto was born at Villanueva de la Serena, Badajoz, Spain

• 1514: Hernando De Soto left home on a voyage to the Indies

• 1519: Hernando De Soto joins another exploration of discovery to Panama in South America where he makes his mark as a Captain of the Horse

• 1524: Hernando De Soto went on an expedition to Nicaragua, South America, with Francisco de Cordoba

• 1525: De Soto engaged in the profitable slave trade in Nicaragua

• 1530: Francisco Pizarro recruited de Soto for his famous expedition to Peru

• 1531 January: Hernando De Soto sailed with Francisco Pizarro from the port of Panama with 3 ships and over 200 men

• 1532 November 15: Pizarro reaches Cajamarca and captures Atahuallpa, the emperor of the Incas. Thousands of Incas were killed. The fabulous treasure of the Incas was stolen

• 1535 6 January: Pizarro founded Lima, Peru which he called Ciudad de los Reyes meaning 'City of the Kings'

• 1536: Hernando De Soto returned to Spain reporting to the King on the explorations of Pizarro. De Soto brought back his share of the Incas gold - he was a rich man

• 1536: Hernando De Soto set up a household in Seville

• 1537 De Soto married Ines de Bobadilla the youngest daughter of Pedrarias Davila (Davila had been instrumental in the downfall of Vasco Nunez de Balboa in 1519)

• 1537: Hernando De Soto was named the titles of Adelantado of Florida and Governor of Cuba by Charles V and granted the rights to conquer Florida

• 1537/38: Hernando De Soto gathered together 950 armed soldiers, priests and 10 ships

• 1538 April 6: The Hernando De Soto expedition left Sanlucar, Spain for the Americas

• 1538: The expedition landed at Santiago de Cuba

• 1538/39 De Soto had been given the title Governor of Cuba, he spent some months in Cuba preparing for the voyage to Florida

• 1539: May 30 Hernando De Soto arrived on the west coast of Florida with 1000 soldiers

• 1538/42: Hernando De Soto spent four years exploring the area and searching for gold and silver. His contact with the native indians was always violent and brutal

• 1542: Hernando De Soto died of a fever on May 21, 1542. He was buried on the banks of the Mississippi River

Interesting Facts, Picture, Timeline and Information about Hernando De Soto
Some interesting facts and biography information about the History, Life & Times of Hernando De Soto

Famous Explorers - Hernando De Soto - Spanish Conquistador and Explorer
Additional details, timelines, facts, history and information about the famous European Explorers and events in the great Age of Exploration and Elizabethan Times can be accessed via the Elizabethan Era Sitemap.