Knights of Spain, Warriors of the Sun: Hernando De Soto and the South's Ancient Chiefdoms [Hardcover]

Charles M. Hudson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1997

Between 1539 and 1542 Hernando de Soto led a small army on a desperate journey of exploration nearly 4,000 miles across what would become the southeastern part of America. Until now, his path has been one of history's most intriguing mysteries. Using a new route reconstruction, Hudson offers a new theory of this expedition, placing it on a map and, in many instances, tying it to specific archaeological sites. 97 photos. 10 maps.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Hernando de Soto's tortuous and futile expedition, from 1539 to 1543, in search of imaginary cities of gold marked the first significant European penetration of what was to become the American South. In his previous work, coauthored with Jerald T. Milanich (Hernando de Soto and the Indians of Florida, LJ 1/93), he made use of the archaeological and documentary evidence to establish part of the long-debated route of this epic trek, as well as the "social geography" of the now extinct native peoples. In this long-anticipated study, the author completes in detail the story of the expedition, its route (which went as far as Texas), and the impact on the native chiefdoms. For the latter, contact with the Old World was an "unimaginable calamity," leading to a long decline brought about by military assault, subsequent destabilization, and epidemic disease. This scholarly work, written in an accessible narrative style is likely to be the definitive work on this subject; highly recommended for public and academic libraries.?William F. Young, SUNY at Albany Lib.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"The definitive work on this subject."--Library Journal

"Hudson has brought alive the world changed by Hernando de Soto and the consequences for those whose home it was."--Times Literary Supplement

"Hudson's masterful new book has raised the level of the discussion for all who will come after him, and he has made an invaluable contribution to the historical understanding of Native American life in the Southeast."--Southern Cultures

"There is much to be learned from this volume. . . . [It] is likely to become the definitive work on the subject."--Latin American Perspectives

"A book of great and lasting importance, making major contributions to geographic, ethnographic, and historical scholarship . . . by far the most persuasive approximation of De Soto's route."--Mississippi Quarterly

"No scholar has spent more energy, enthusiasm and passion in following Governor-General de Soto across the South-East of the United States than Hudson has."--Journal of European Economic History

"This book will stand as the most thorough analysis of the De Soto expedition produced since the 1930s."--Vernon J. Knight Jr., coeditor of The De Soto Chronicles: The Expedition of Hernando de Soto to North America in 1539-1543

"Hovering between specialized archaeological research and compelling lay history, this work is destined for textbook status in the field of de Soto studies, and may shift some roadside markers along the way."--Oxford American

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 561 pages
• Publisher: Univ of Georgia Pr (July 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0820318884
• ISBN-13: 978-0820318882
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #969,535 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Look at the Forgotten Conquest, January 4, 2004

By 

Zekeriyah (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Knights of Spain, Warriors of the Sun: Hernando de Soto and the South's Ancient Chiefdoms (Paperback)

Charles Hudson is one of the greatest authors on the Nations of the Southeastern States, and in this book he turns his attentions towards their early contacts with the Spanish conquistadors in the mid-1500s. The first chapter of the book is nice, giving historical backgrounds and cultural details concerning both the Spanish (who had recently unified their country and having driven the Muslims and Jews out, were eager for more conquests) and the Mound Builders (who were in fact several highly developed civilizations throughout the Southeast).

He then goes on to a very detailed examination of Hernando de Soto. He is examined, and we are given insight into every aspect of his expedition from his arrival in Florida all the way up to the end. The book is read in a linear fashion, making the story much easier to follow and the book focuses on specific places, villages and Nations that de Soto encountered. More than anything, his expedition had a negative impact on the Southeastern civilizations, gradually weakening them through disease, depletions of food and outright murder, rape and kidnappings. This would have such an impact that old Nations eroded away and gave rise to new Nations. Those that encountered the British and Americans later, such as the Five Civilized Nations (Cherokee, Seminole, Creek, Choctaw and Chickasaw), Powhatan Confederation and Tuscarora, were vastly different from their ancestors.

The book closes out with a look at what happened after de Soto's expedition and includes a very thorough bibliography. It is also lavishly illustrated, including almost a hundred photographs of artifacts from Cahokia and other Mississippian civilizations, woodcuts, drawings of Indian dwellings and cities, photos of the Southeastern landscape and even recreationists in full Spanish military gear. Plus lots of maps of archaeological cultures in the Southeast, de Soto's route and so forth. A very nice book explaining the mysterious Indians of the Southeast and their early (and largely forgotten) contact with the Spaniards.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Look at 16th Century Exploration, August 6, 2001

By 

T. C. Ross (Washington, D.C.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Knights of Spain, Warriors of the Sun: Hernando de Soto and the South's Ancient Chiefdoms (Paperback)

I bought this book on a whim, but ... wow ... what a journey. Hudson has been intimately involved in combing through the journals and reports of the De Soto expedition, cross-referencing the reports with examinations of the geography of the areas covered and archeological/anthropological studies of the 16th century inhabitants of the region.

Hudson's approach to the expedition is interesting. He is a partisan arguing in favor of the route he delineates for the expedition, but he lays out the journey in a fairly straightforward manner that is very engaging. The Afterward, however, gives a quick rundown of the differences in opinion over the route, the still-unfolding evidence to support Hudson's claims, and what remains to be proven.

All it all, it is a vivid retelling of the first planned European expedition into southeastern North America, which was quite a different place than when much of it was colonized by Europeans a century later. The native cultures were near the end of the moundbuilding Mississippian culture, and Hudson notes how the disruptions of De Soto and his men may have contributed to the eventual changes in native society.

Fascinating.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another masterful work from Hudson, June 15, 2002

By 

J.H.Rickman (Tuscaloosa AL.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Knights of Spain, Warriors of the Sun: Hernando De Soto and the South's Ancient Chiefdoms (Hardcover)

This is by far the most comprehensible work on DeSoto that I've read to date. It fully brings to life the stuggles of the expedition, as well as the depridations done to the indeginous peoples of the Southeast. It reads much like a novel, bringing to life several key participates, both Spainards, and natives alike. This book is a masterpiece, decades in the making, wonderfully researched, and written. If the early exploration of the Southeast is of intrest to you, then this is a must own book.