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May 12, 1500
Hernando born
Around the 15th hundreds a little boy was born in Jerez de los Caballeros, Spain. He was born to a very poor family. This family were Roman Catholics and so was the little boy. The family decided to name the boy Hernando De Soto but his friends later on called him Fernando or Ferdinando. Hernando was a very intelligent boy and he dreamed of designing his own automobiles but he had no idea what was going to happen in his life. -
Aug 8, 1510
Education
Hernando went to a verty small school called St Ferdinand in Spain. He went to the school until 1514. Later on he also studied in a university. -
May 3, 1514
Davila - Adventure
In 1514 Hernando got asked by a man called Pedrarias Davila if he would like to come on a journey with him to the west Indies. Hernando was excited and said yes and he then learned how to be a horseman and a soldier. -
Oct 16, 1532
Hernando De Soto and Francisco Pizarro
After the west Indies Hernando went off to Peru with Francisco Pizarro. They went to the capital of Peru called Cuzco to explore and conquer the land and earn money. Hernando had the role second command on Pizarro´s expedition. They were very successful in the battle. -
Aug 15, 1536
Back to Spain
In 1536 De Soto decided to return to Spain. He was a very wealthy man when he came back. He had about 18,000 ounces of gold. Hernando married the doughter of his old patron Davila. Her name was Isabella. After a year he was restless of hearing all the stories and explorations of North America. He then decided to go to North America with 10 ships and a crew of 700 men. -
Apr 6, 1538
Stop in Cuba
De Soto and his crew had gone all the way from Spain and they decided to stop in Cuba. While there they helped the city Havanna to recover after the french men had destroyed the city. Because of this they were delayed and changed plans. On the 18th of May 1539 they set out for Florida again. -
May 25, 1539
Reaching Tampa Bay
Finally they had landed in Tampa Bay and were ready to explore North America. They had decided to look for and trade for gold and silver. In their plans they were doing this for the next 3 years. They went to places like Florida, Georgia and Alabama. Finally they came to the Indians and had the worst battle yet. -
Jun 20, 1540
Exploring the Mississippi
Hernando and his crew came to a new place they did not know about. They came to a river called Mississippi river. De Soto was the first person from Europe to discover this river. After crossing half the river half his men had been taken out of disease. -
May 21, 1542
Hernandos death
When they had crossed the Mississippi river Hernando De Soto got fever and then died in Ferriday, Louisiana. Members of his crew sank his body in the river. De Soto wanted Luis de Moscoso Alvarado to be the new leader. Luis decided to go back to Cuba and carry on with their journey.
