List of sites and peoples visited by the Hernando de Soto Expedition
This is a list of sites and peoples visited by the Hernando de Soto Expedition in the years 1539–1543. In May 1539, de Soto left Havana, Cuba, with nine ships, over 620 men and 220 surviving horses and landed at Charlotte Harbor, Florida. This began his three-year odyssey through the Southeastern North American continent, from which de Soto and a large portion of his men would not return.
They met many varied Native American groups, most of them bands and chiefdoms related to the widespread Mississippian culture. Only a few of these ancestral cultures survived into the seventeenth century, or their descendants combined as historic tribes known to later Europeans. Others have been recorded only in the written historical accounts of de Soto's expedition.
Florida[]
- Uzita
- Mocoso
- Urriparacoxi
- Timucua
- Ocale
- Acuera
- Potano
- Alachua culture
- Northern Utina
- Yustaga
- Uzachile
- Anhaica
- Apalachee
- Narváez expedition's "Bay of Horses"
Georgia[]
The peoples the expedition encountered in Georgia were speakers of Muskogean languages. The expedition made two journeys through Georgia - the first heading northeast to Cofitachequi in South Carolina, and the second heading southwest from Tennessee, at which point they visited the Coosa chiefdom.
First Leg
- Ichisi
- Ocute
- Hitchiti
After leaving Ocute, the expedition crossed the "Wilderness of Ocute" (the modern-day Savannah River basin) to arrive in present-day South Carolina. Artifacts from the first leg have been found in Telfair County, Georgia.
Second Leg
All territory the expedition crossed through during this leg was under the control of Coosa, a paramount chiefdom with territory in Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee.
- Coosa chiefdom
- Little Egypt, the likely site of the Coosa capital
- Sixtoe Mound
- Bell Field Mound Site
- Etowah Indian Mounds (Talimachusi)
South Carolina[]
The primary destination of the expedition in South Carolina was the paramount chiefdom of Cofitachequi. The people of this chiefdom were likely the ancestors of the modern Cherokee and Catawba.
- Cofitachequi, likely located at the present Mulberry Plantation
North Carolina[]
- Joara, near Morganton, North Carolina
- Cheraw (tribe)
- Chelaque
Tennessee[]
- Chiska
- Chiaha
- Coste
- Tali
- Chalahume
- Satapo
Alabama[]
Parts of Coosa extended into Alabama. The other primary chiefdom encountered by the expedition was that of Tuscaluza. The peoples encountered in Alabama were likely the ancestors of the modern Creek, Alabama, and Choctaw.
Mississippi[]
- Chicaza
- Walls Phase
- Quigualtam
- Natchez people
Arkansas[]
- Casqui, believed by many archaeologists to be the same as the site of the Parkin Archeological State Park.[1][2]
- Pacaha, believed by many archaeologists to be the Nodena Site.[1][2]
- Coligua
- Tunica people
- Tula people
- Anilco, possibly the Menard Complex in the southeastern corner of the state.[1]
- Guachoya
- Quapaw
- Caddoans
- Aays Caddo confederacy.
- Naguatex
Texas[]
- Caddo
- Nadaco (Nondacao)
- Hasinai
- Adai (Native American culture)
See also[]
- Alabama language
- Caddoan languages
- Cherokee language
- Chickasaw language
- Choctaw language
- Creek language
- Etowah Indian Mounds
- Hitchiti
- Lake Jackson Mounds Archaeological State Park
- Lake Village, Arkansas
- Mississippian culture
- Moundville Archaeological Site
- Ocmulgee National Monument
- Pisgah Phase
- Southeastern Ceremonial Complex
- Timucua language
- Yamasee
- Yazoo tribe
References[]
- Native American history
- Native American populated places
- Native American-related lists
- Colonial United States (Spanish)
- Expeditions from Spain
- 1540s in New Spain
- 1540s in North America
- Spanish exploration in the Age of Discovery
- Late Mississippian culture
- Mississippian culture
- Native American history of Alabama
- Native American history of Arkansas
- Native American history of Florida
- Native American history of Georgia (U.S. state)
- Native American history of Mississippi
- Native American history of North Carolina
- Native American history of South Carolina
- Native American history of Tennessee
- Native American history of Texas
- Colonial Louisiana
- Spanish Florida
- Spanish Texas
- Archaeology of the United States
- Eastern United States
- Southeastern United States
- Spanish colonization of the Americas
- 16th century in North America