Hernando De Soto was born about 1496 in Jerez de los Caballeros, Badajoz, Spain, the second son of a minor country noble, known as an "Hildago".
Hernando De Soto first went to sea when he was 14, sailing to Panama as a member of a Spanish crew. In Panama, he served the then reigning governor Pedrarias Davila, and his friend Vasco Nunez de Balboa as horse soldier, because he was particularly skilled at horsemanship.
Hernando De Soto married Isabel De Rupodio. The family was Roman Catholic, which was mandatory in Spain at that time. Other sources state that he married Inés de Bobadilla (m. 1537–1542)[1]
Hernándo De Soto was one of the first explorers of the west coast of Florida. He came as a "Conquistador" with sailing ships, men and horses to look for gold, and explore the newly "discovered" lands of La Florida. He is believed to have landed somewhere near Tampa Bay, and local communities there vye to claim his landing spot. Current Manatee County, Florida is the most likely spot, and a monument to the landing of Hernando DeSoto has been erected along the waterfront there in a park named after DeSoto.
Not finding gold in the Tampa Bay area, Hernando De Soto and his men headed north over land and west along the Florida panhandle, toward the Mississippi River.
Hernando De Soto explored much of what is now the southeastern United States, constantly interested in looking for gold, and exploiting native tribes along the way. With men and materiale from Spain, he used his superior technologies like gun powder to subdue American Indian warriors and claim vast areas for Spain. Spain , however, was not able to hold land east of the Mississippi except for East and West Florida, which consisted of the present State of Florida, and a couple hundred miles inland from the Gulf Coast westward to Louisiana.
Hernando De Soto died along the banks of the Mississippi in present day Louisiana, USA, on May 21, 1542.
Several places, streets and buildings in modern Florida are also named for Hernando DeSoto, mainly Hernando County, Florida and De Soto County, Florida. Manatee County, Florida hosts a civic festival and parade in his honor each spring.DeSoto Parish, Lousiana is named in his honor. 07:53, 6 December 2014 (EST)
Also named for Hernando De Soto are: De Soto County, Mississippi, and its county seat, Hernando. Keniston-36 09:22, 23 October 2016 (EDT)
Also named in honor of Hernando DeSoto is DeSoto Parish, Louisiana.
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DeSoto Parish, Lousiana is named in his honor.
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