Hernando De Soto was conquistador and an explorer from Spain. Hernando is documented as the first European to reach Mississippi. This was while he led the European expedition deeper towards the modern day territory. This expedition was the very first in Europe. Therefore, this essay will compare and contrast two articles based on Hernando and his discovery of Mississippi river. .
According to Galloway, Hernando landed into the Mississippi region as a result of his search for silver and gold. He had 400 troops who joined him in his flatboats in crossing the river. They did so at night, so that the night cover would hide them from the Native Americans who were armed. This armed Americans conducted a daily patrol on the river using war canoe. However, this document does not mention De Soto’s passage through China. This was still in the course of Silver and gold haunted. This article makes it clear that the search is the motivation which made him reach the Mississippi (Galloway 1).
Hernando De Soto was born to his parents who hailed in a region of hardships and poverty. Many young people therefore, had to find means of uplifting their lives. It was the desire for a better life that led Hernando to becoming the first European to reach Mississippi. In Galloway’s article, De Soto was a daring young adventurer and a horseman. It has also indicated that De Soto had accumulated lots of wealth courtesy of the slave trade in India. This was during his exploration mission in Central America (Galloway 1). This source hence contrasts how Jacobson brought out De Soto as young man driven to success by necessity.
However, the two sources show him as a notorious man in torturing natives. According to Jacobson, the First Panama governor liked his clever schemes, which he applied in extortion of natives. This is very unlikely of a person who had undergone hard times as a kid. Instead of fighting for justice of the poor or better still helping them, De Soto compressed them. He is also described as a lover of fame (Jacobson 1).
It was on May 8 in the year 1541 that De Soto reached Mississippi. De Sato want for more reaches was becoming more than a determination. Instead of marching with his troop to the Gulf coast he headed to America for more reaches. After crossing the Mississippi, he travelled through Louisiana, today’s Arkansas. He still had a few of his gains to mark and display his efforts. Juan Ortiz who was their interpreter died. His death made them face difficulties in continuing with their journey (Jacobson 1). It was had to locate sources of food. After a fight with the dangerous Tula, and being declared as very skilled, they made their return to Mississippi. Both sources indicate that De Soto died at the bank on Mississippi fever.
Work cited
Galloway, Patricia K. The Hernando De Soto Expedition: History, Historiography, and
"discovery" in the Southeast. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2005. Internet
resource.
Jacobson, Judy. Alabama and Mississippi Connections: Historical and Biographical Sketches
of Families Who Settled on Both Sides of the Tombigbee River. Baltimore, Md:
Clearfield, 1999. Print.
