The De Soto Chronicles Volume 1
The Expedition of Hernando De Soto to North America in 1539-1543

Lawrence A. Clayton (Edited by), Charles Hudson (Contributions by), John E. Worth (Contributions by), Eugene Lyon (Contributions by), Jeffrey P. Brain (Contributions by), John H. Hann (Contributions by), Edward C. Moore (Edited by), Frances G. Crowley (Contributions by), David Bost (Contributions by), Rocio Sanchez Rubio (Contributions by), Charmion Shelby (Contributions by), Eduardo Kortright (Contributions by), James A. Robertson (Contributions by), Paul Hoffman (Contributions by), Vernon James Knight (Edited by)

9780817361778, The University of Alabama Press

Paperback / softback, published 13 September 2024

608 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 4.6 cm, 0.454 kg

"A rich, readable contribution to De Soto studies that commemorates the 450th anniversary of the ill-fated explorer's odyssey through the present southeastern U.S. and Texas. These translations of the four primary accounts of the venture, with new notes and introductions, make valuable historical and ethnographical information easily available and accessible both to scholars and to general readers. . . . All academic libraries and larger public libraries should purchase this exceptionally valuable compilation." —Choice

"These handsomely produced volumes contain translations of virtually all known documents from the De Soto expedition, as well as new scholarship. For the first time all these sources are in one place. The editors, authors, translators, and support groups are to be congratulated for a lasting contribution to scholarship. These important volumes deserve to be on the shelves of every person interested in history, ethnohistory, or archaeology of the Southeastern United States." —Florida Historical Quarterly

“For those interested in De Soto and his expedition, these volumes are an absolute necessity.” —The Hispanic American Historical Review

The De Soto expedition was the first major encounter of Europeans with indigenous North Americans in the eastern half of the United States. De Soto and his army of over 600 men, including 200 cavalry, spent four years traveling through what is now Florida, Georgia, Alabama, North and South Carolina, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas. The De Soto Chronicles Volume 1 and Volume 2 present for the first time all four primary accounts of the De Soto expedition together in English translation.

The four primary accounts are generally referred to as Elvas, Rangel, Biedma (in Volume 1), and Garcilaso, or the Inca (in Volume 2). In this landmark 1993 publication, Clayton’s team presents the four accounts with literary and historical introductions. They further add brief essays about De Soto and the expedition, translations of De Soto documents from the Spanish Archivo General de Indias, two short biographies of De Soto, and bibliographical studies.

For anthropologists, archaeologists, and historians, The De Soto Chronicles are valued for the unique ethnological information they contain. They form the only detailed eyewitness records of the most advanced native civilization in North America—the Mississippian culture—a culture largely lost in the wake of European contact.

• ILLUSTRATIONS
• BOARD OF ADVISERS
• CONTRIBUTORS
• FOREWORD By Lawrence A. Clayton
• PREFACE
• ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
• NOTES ON TRANSLATIONS AND NAMES
• INTRODUCTION: THE DE SOTO EXPEDITION, A CULTURAL CROSSROADS
  By Paul E. Hoffman
• THE ACCOUNT BY A GENTLEMAN FROM ELVAS 19
  Translated and Edited by James Alexander Robertson
  With Footnotes and Updates to Robertson'
  s Notes by John H. Hann
• RELATION OF THE ISLAND OF FLORIDA 221
  By Luys Hernandez de Biedma
  Newly Translated and Edited by John E. Worth
  With Footnotes by John E. Worth and Charles Hudson
• ACCOUNT OF THE NORTHERN CONQUEST AND DISCOVERY OF HERNANDO DE SOTO 247
  By Rodrigo Rangel (drawn from Historia general y natural de las Indias by Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo y Valdes) Newly Translated and Edited by John E. Worth
  With Footnotes by John E. Worth and Charles Hudson
• THE CANETE FRAGMENT: ANOTHER NARRATIVE OF HERNANDO DE SOTO 307
  by Eugene Lyon
• PARALLEL ITINERARY OF THE EXPEDITION
  Originally published as Appendix E in the Final Report of the United States De Soto Expedition Commission
  by John R. Swanton
  Selected Items from NARRATIVES OF THE CAREER OF HERNANDO DE SOTO IN THE CONQUEST OF FLORIDA
  Translated by Buckingham Smith for the Bradford Club, New York, 1866
• CONVEYANCE OF DOWER BY THE.WIDOW OF PEDAARIAS DAVILA TO HERNANDO DE SOTO, IN CONSIDERATION OF THE ESPOUSAL OF HER DAUGHTER 357
• LETTER OF HERNANDO DE SOTO RESPECTING CONCESSIONS HE DESIRES SHALL BE OBTAINED FOR HIM AT COURT
• CONCESSION MADE BY THE KING OF SPAIN TO HERNANDO DE SOTO OF THE GOVERNMENT OF CUBA AND CONQUEST OF FLORIDA, WITH THE TITLE OF ADELANTADO 359
• ROYAL CEDULA PERMITTING JUAN DE ANASCO TO TRAFFIC WITH THE INDIANS OF FLORIDA, SO LONG AS THERE ARE NO DUTIES ON IMPORTS IN THAT PROVINCE 365
• WILL OF HERNANDO DE SOTO 366
• LETTER TO THE KING OF SPAIN FROM OFFICERS AT HAVANA IN THE ARMY OF DE SOTO 372
• LETTER OF HERNANDO DE SOTO AT TAMPA BAY TO THE JUSTICE AND BOARD OF MAGISTRATES IN SANTIAGO DE CUBA 375
• LETTER TO CHARLES V FROM THE JUSTICE AND BOARD OF MAGISTRATES OF SANTIAGO DE CUBA, GIVING A STATEMENT OF OCCURRENCES ON THE ISLAND 378
• EL ADELANTADO DON HERNANDO DE SOTO 383
  A short biography, originally published by the Junta de Extremadura (Extremadura Enclave 92) in their Cuadernos Populares, November 1988.
  By Rocio Sanchez Rubio Translated by Eduardo Kortright
• HERNANDO DE SOTO: A BRIEF BIOGRAPHY 421
  By Paul E. Hoffman
• SOME NEW TRANSLATIONS OF DE SOTO DOCUMENTS FROM THE GENERAL ARCHIVE OF THE INDIES, SEVILLE 461
  Selected and Introduced by Rocio Sanchez Rubio Translated by David Bost
• NAMING OF CAPTAIN HERNANDO DE SOTO AS LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR OF CUZCO, 1534 467
• CEDULA REAL PERMITTING THE SHIPS GOING TO THE INDIES TO GO IN THE COMPANY OF DE SOTO'
  S ARMADA
• CEDULA REAL REQUIRING THE SHIPS GOING TOWARD THE INDIES TO DO SO IN THE COMPANY OF HERNANDO DE SOTO, 1538 469
• AUTHORIZATION FOR DONA ISABEL DE BOBADILLA TO BRING THREE SLAVE WOMEN TO THE ISLAND OF CUBA FOR HER SERVICE
• INTERROGATION FOR THE CONCESSION OF THE HABIT OF SANTIAGO TO HERNANDO DE SOTO, 1538 470
• POWER GRANTED BY THE ADELANTADO HERNANDO DE SOTO TO HIS WIFE, ISABEL DE BOBADILLA, 1539
• INVENTORY OF THE ASSETS LEFT BY THE ADELANTADO HERNANDO DE SOTO FOLLOWING HIS DEATH, 1543
• INDIAN PROPER NAMES IN THE FOUR NARRATIVES
  Originally published in the Final Report of The United States De Soto Expedition Commission 499
  By John R. Swanton
• GLOSSARY 503
• INTRODUCTION TO BIBLIOGRAPHY OF DE SOTO STUDIES
  By Jeffrey P. Brain and Charles R. Ewen 507
• BIBLIOGRAPHY OF DE SOTO STUDIES
  By Jeffrey P. Brain and Charles R. Ewen 5 I 5
• INDEX 551
• THE "
  DE SOTO MAP"
  Endpapers
• HERNANDO DE SOTO, CA. 1495-1542 Vlll
• A COIN FROM DE SOTO'
  S FIRST WINTER CAMP 71
• SPANIARDS MEET WITH A MISSISSIPPIAN CHIEF 79
• THE HERNANDO DE SOTO EXPEDITION ENCOUNTERS CHIEF TASCALUSA 97
• MONOLITHIC AX I02
• SPANISH SWORDS I03
• DE SOTO'
  S ROUTE IN NORTH AMERICA BY ROCIO SANCHEZ RUBIO 169
• SPANISH SWORDSMAN, ARQUEBUSIER, AND PIKEMAN ABOUT 1540 2 34
• SPANISH GLASS TRADE BEADS 286
• A "
  CLARKSDALE"
  BELL 287
• A SPANISH MAN-AT-ARMS 295
• DELISLE'
  S MAP OF LOUISIANE, 1718 419