It`s May 30, 1539

Landing in La Florida
“The Cross of Burgundy”
Spanish military flag
from 1506 – 1701
It’s May 30, 1539...
Spanish conquistador
Hernando de Soto has
arrived here in La Florida,
Land of Flowers, and stepped ashore —
“On Friday,
May 30, the y d
isembarked
on the land of F
lorida , two leag
ues from a
town of an India
n chief called U
cita . The y
disembarked the
two hundred an
d thirteen
horses which the
y carried , in ord
er to lighten
the ships so that
the y would need
less water.
The captain gen
eral , Vasco Porc
allo, taking
with him seven h
orse[men], imme
diately
o v e r ra n t h e l a n d
fo r a h a l f l e a g u
e round
a b o u t a n d fo u n d
six Indians who
tried to
oppose him with
their arrows—we
apons with
which the y are a
ccustomed to fig
ht . The
horsemen killed
two of them and
t h e fo u r
[others] escaped
...”
My men can now offload our nine ships. We
have sailed with 500 tons of materials needed
for our long expedition ahead. Several scouting
parties will be sent into the surrounding
countryside to find a suitable place to
establish a fortified camp.
— Ac c o u n t b y R
o d r i g o Ra n g e l
T he D e S o t o
C h r o n ic le s
Hermann Trappman
The Conquistador Trail
King Charles V proclaimed De Soto governor
of Cuba. For months, De Soto prepared for his
journey to La Florida using Cuban resources
financed from his own fortune.
Hernando de Soto’s expedition making landfall in Tampa Bay on May 30, 1539
at
ur
al
His
tory
“The Landing” by Hermann Trappman
seu
Mu
ida
Flor
m
N
of
Weeden Island Incised Vessel
This ancient vessel was found
on the Florida Gulf Coast along
the expedition route.
The Native Path
us
eu
m of
Natural Histor
y
The native Tocobaga people,
living near present-day Tampa Bay,
were in a no-man’s-land between
two warring Indian chiefdoms.
To the south, the Calusa laid claim
to all the land from Sarasota Bay to the
Florida Keys. To the north, the Timucuan
peoples controlled Central and North Florida
to the Aucilla River.
Florid
Fort Walton Incised Potsherds
Found in the Panhandle, this
broken pottery came from vessels used
at the time of the De Soto expedition.
Map of Florida showing the native tribes
at the time of Hernando de Soto’s expedition
“Florida’s Lost Tribes” by Theodore Morris
aM
s
orri
ore M
Theod