The De Soto Chronicles Volume 2
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)

9780817361785, The University of Alabama Press

Paperback / softback, published 13 September 2024

612 pages
23.5 x 15.6 x 4.5 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
• FOREWORD
  by Edward C. Moore
• GARCILASO DE LA VEGA, THE INCA
  by Frances G. Crowley
• LA FLORIDA
  by Garcilaso de la Vega, the Inca
  Translated by Charmion Shelby for the 1935 United States De Soto Expedition Commission Edited by David Bost
  With Footnotes by Vernon James Knight, Jr.
• APPENDIX
• GENEALOGY OF GARCl PEREZ DE VARGAS
  by Garcilaso de la Vega
  Translated by Frances G. Crowley
• INDEX