1539-1540

You are standing along the historic route of the conquistador Hernando de Soto and his expedition through the Florida Native American territories in his quest for gold and glory.

A Port With Promise

It's December 28, 1539...

Sailing from De Soto's winter camp near present-day Tallahassee, Captain Francisco Maldonado has just completed scouting this western coastline. He was sent in search of a suitable harbor to establish a port for supply ships from Cuba-

I found an Indian village called Achuse in a large bay by the sea, where I stopped and traded. I captured one Indian trader and plan to take him back to our winter encampment at the Apalachee village of Anhayca. There, he will be presented to Hernando de Soto of interrogation.

The Conquistador Trail
Twenty years after De Soto's expedition, Spanish conquistador Tristan de Luna tried to establish a colony along the coast. Accompanying him were several survivors of De Soto's expedition, who helped with navigation and information about the Indian chiefdoms. Shortly after their arrival, a hurricane hit and sank most of their ships, causing the colony to fail.

The Native Path
The people of Achuse lived along the border of the greater Apalachee chiefdom. They traded fish and other food with the Apalachee Indians for corn, beans, and squash. This way of life changed drastically in the 16th century. One Spanish explorer after another attempted to establish colonies in present day Pensacola Bay—disrupting trade, spreading disease, and interfering in tribal alliances.

"Francisco Maldonado, a nobleman from Salamanca, went in the brigantines cruising the coast and entering all the coves and inlets and river that he saw until he arrived at a river he found had a good entrance, and a good port and a town of Indians on the seacoast."
- Account by Luys Hernandez de Biedma
The De Soto Chronicles

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Show me all markers in:  Pensacola, FL  |  Escambia County  |  32502  |  Florida  |  United States of America

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