Knights of Spain, Warriors of the Sun: Hernando de Soto and the South's Ancient Chiefdoms

By: Charles Hudson

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Synopsis: The 20th anniversary edition of the study that first revealed De Soto&’s path across the 16th century American South includes a forward by Robbie Ethridge Between 1539 and 1542, the Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto led a small army on an expedition of almost four thousand miles across Southeastern America. De Soto&’s path had been one of history&’s most intriguing mysteries until the publication of Knights of Spain, Warriors of the Sun. Using a new route reconstruction, anthropologist Charles Hudson maps the story of the de Soto expedition, tying the route to a number of specific archaeological sites. De Soto&’s journey cut a bloody and indelible swath across both the landscape and native cultures in a quest for gold and glory. The desperate Spanish army followed the sunset from Florida to Texas before abandoning its mission. De Soto&’s one triumph was that he was the first European to explore the vast region that would be the American South. But in 1542, he died a broken man on the banks of the Mississippi River. In this classic text, Hudson masterfully chronicles both De Soto&’s expedition and the native societies he visited. The narrative unfolds against the exotic backdrop of a now extinct social and geographic landscape. A blending of archaeology, history, and historical geography, this is a monumental study of the sixteenth-century Southeast.