USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -De Soto was sent by the King of Spain to explore and settle La Florida. It had already been claimed for Spain by another conquistador, Juan Ponce de León. The king wanted de Soto to start a Spanish colony there and govern it. De Soto hoped to do what he and Francisco Pizarro did in Peru.

Detailed explanation-2: -Spanish Explorers After Columbus Juan Ponce de León explored the coasts of Florida in 1513. Vasco Núñez de Balboa crossed the Isthmus of Panama and discovered the Pacific Ocean in the same year.

Detailed explanation-3: -Seeking greater glory and riches, de Soto embarked on a major expedition in 1538 to conquer Florida for the Spanish crown. He and his men traveled nearly 4, 000 miles throughout the region that would become the southeastern United States in search of riches, fighting off Native American attacks along the way.

Detailed explanation-4: -After marching through Florida, De Soto’s group traveled northeast through Georgia and into South Carolina and North Carolina before turning west and southwest into parts of Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi. On May 8, 1541, the expedition sighted the Mississippi River, then headed into Arkansas.

Detailed explanation-5: -Juan Ponce de León was the first Spanish explorer to set foot in the southeastern United States. He was born ca. 1460 into a noble family. He spent some time in the royal court of Spain before entering the military and gaining experience fighting against the Moors in Grenada.