The History of Hernando de Soto and Florida: Or, Record of the Events of Fifty-six Years, from 1512-1568
Barnard Shipp
eBook
There is probably no Spanish hero of America whose fame is more widespread throughout the United States than that of Hernando de Soto, and yet, at the same time, of whom so little is known. The expedition of De Soto into "Florida" was, in fact, the beginning of the history of the United States, whose vast domain is now the unrivaled region lying between the oceans, the Mexican gulf, and the great lakes.In 1888, Bernard Shipp (1813-1904) published "The History of Hernando de Soto and Florida" with purpose to make more particularly known the first great expedition that revealed to the world the interior of the United States; to trace the route by which De Soto traveled; and to tell the names and indicate the locations of the Indian towns and tribes of "Florida" first mentioned in history.Hernando de Soto (c. 1495 – May 21, 1542) was a Spanish explorer and conquistador who led the first Spanish and European expedition deep into the territory of the modern-day United States (through Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and most likely Arkansas). He is the first European documented as having crossed the Mississippi River.De Soto's North American expedition was a vast undertaking. It ranged throughout the southeastern United States, both searching for gold, which had been reported by various Indian tribes and earlier coastal explorers, and for a passage to China or the Pacific coast. De Soto died in 1542 on the banks of the Mississippi River; different sources disagree on the exact location, whether what is now Lake Village, Arkansas, or Ferriday, Louisiana.Shipp's "The History of Hernando de Soto and Florida" is a recognized historical source, cited in the following modern works:•A People's History of Florida, 1513-1876: How Africans, Seminoles, Women, and Lower Class Whites Shaped the Sunshine State, by Adam Wasserman - 2010 •Archaeological Survey in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley 1940-1947, by Philip Phillips, ‎James A. Ford, ‎James Alfred Ford – 2003 •Mississippian Political Economy, by Jon Muller - 2013 •Beyond Books and Borders: Garcilaso de la Vega and La Florida Del Inca, by ‎Raquel Chang-RodrĂguez - 2006 •Spirits of Blood, Spirits of Breath, by Barbara Alice Mann - 2016•Up the Orinoco and down the Magdalena, by John Augustine Zahm - 2017 •Where There Are Mountains: An Environmental History, by Donald Edward Davis - 2011•Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico Volume 4, by Frederick Webb Hodge - 2003•The Wisconsin Archeologist, by Charles Edward Brown - 2006•Mississippian Political Economy, by Jon Muller - 1997 •Hernando de Soto: A Savage Quest in the Americas, by David Ewing Duncan - 1995 About the author: Barnard Shipp was born near Natchez, Miss. 1813, and died in 1904. He studied at Yale. In 1898, "N. U." in recognition of his literary work, conferred upon him the degree of A. M.He resided in Natchez, Miss., and Louisville, Ky. He traveled extensively in Europe. He inherited a large property, which enabled him at an early age to devote himself to travel and historical research.He became an authority on the early Spanish explorations in America. He published in 1848, a volume of poems, Fame and Other Poems, which had an extended sale, and gave him literary fame throughout the country. In 1852, he published the Progress of Freedom and Other Poems. His greatest works were along historical lines. In 1881, he published De Sota and Florida, an extensive work of 689 pages, embracing the period between 1512, and 1568. In 1897, The Indian and Antiquities of America, was published, a work of 451 pages and several illustrations. He also wrote extensively for the press. He left a valuable historical library, valued upwards of $100,000, which was willed to the University of Virginia.