The De Soto Chronicles: The Expedition of Hernando de Soto to North America in 1539-1543 (Two Volume Set) [Paperback]

Lawrence Clayton (Editor), Edward C. Moore (Editor), Vernon James Knight Jr. (Editor), Charles Hudson (Contributor), Dr. John E. Worth (Contributor), Eugene Lyon (Contributor), Jeffrey P. Brain (Contributor), John H. Hann (Contributor), Frances G. Crowley (Contributor), David Bost (Contributor), Rocio Sanchez Rubio (Contributor), Charmion Shelby (Contributor), Eduardo Kortright (Contributor), James A. Robertson (Contributor), Paul Hoffman (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 30, 1995 | ISBN-10: 0817308245 | ISBN-13: 978-0817308247

The De Soto expedition was the first major encounter of Europeans with North American Indians in the eastern half of the United States. De Soto and his army of over 600 men, including 200 cavalry, spent four years traveling through what is now Florida, Georgia, Alabama, North
and South Carolina, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas. For anthropologists, archaeologists, and historians the surviving De Soto chronicles are valued for the unique ethnological information they contain. These documents, available here in a two volume set, are the only detailed eyewitness records of the most advanced native civilization in North America—the Mississippian culture—a culture that vanished in the wake of European contact.


 

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A rich, readable contribution to De Soto studies that commemorates the 450th anniversary of the ill-fated explorer's odyssey through the present southeastern U.S. and Texas. These translations of the four primary accounts of the venture, with new notes and introductions, make valuable historical and ethnographical information easily available and accessible both to scholars and to general readers. . . . All academic libraries and larger public libraries should purchase this exceptionally valuable compilation."

—Choice

"These handsomely produced volumes contain translations of virtually all known documents from the De Soto expedition, as well as new scholarship. For the first time all these sources are in one place. The editors, authors, translators, and support groups are to be congratulated for a lasting contribution to scholarship. These important volumes deserve to be on the shelves of every person interested in history, ethnohistory, or archaeology of the Southeastern United States."

—Florida Historical Quarterly

Product Details

• Paperback: 1200 pages
• Publisher: University Alabama Press (May 30, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0817308245
• ISBN-13: 978-0817308247
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.3 x 3.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #543,854 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Volume II: De Soto chronicle La Florida is second to Diaz, September 12, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The De Soto Chronicles: The Expedition of Hernando de Soto to North America in 1539-1543 (Two Volume Set) (Paperback)

This work is a complete collection of chronicles for the De Soto expedition into La Florida (which is most of the south-east USA). Due to the fact that this work comprises two volumes of almost 600 pages each, I have so far only read volume II which is the complete account "La Florida" by Garcilaso de la Vega. Following others (including the Narvaez expedition that de Vaca relates) De Soto went into Florida to find gold and eventually settle the new land. Garcilaso used one captain from the expedition as his source and is a great storyteller, claiming his abhorrence of exaggerating the contents, much of it is told with the heroic chivalry and noble virtue of the times, whether speaking of Spaniards or Indians, and always some purposeful enthusiasm. If all you know of De Soto is that he was the first to see the Mississippi, that doesn't begin to say anything about what happens during the expedition, and even to the way those who were on it considered it afterwards. It shows also the real nature of the natives, showing great differences in their treatment of the Spanish, their use of slavery, and the brutatilty they showed towards other tribes. (Not as placid as Las Casas would have you believe). Also describing the native cultures and life-styles to some degree. All wonderful and interesting stories. The volumes contain some maps and black and white illustrations. Volume I contains all the other existant accounts including the more historical one by the Gentleman of Elvas. Well worth the price.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars These Books Rock !, September 30, 2007

By 

Willet A. Boyer III "Archaeologist" (Gainesville, Florida) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The De Soto Chronicles: The Expedition of Hernando de Soto to North America in 1539-1543 (Two Volume Set) (Paperback)

These books are recent translations of the four major accounts of the De Soto expedition - the Gentleman of Elvas, Luys Hernandez de Biedma, Rodrigo Ranjel, and Garcilaso de la Vega, based on the account of the soldier Gonzalo Silvestre. They also include translations of a number of documents related to the expedition and its members.

The books represent a badly needed update of the older translations by Buckingham Smith. They give us a picture of a world of Native American societies with tens or hundreds of thousands of people, ruled by nobles and leaders in ranked hierarchies through ceremony, ritual and belief. And they represent our last real glimpse of these societies at the beginning of the end - before disease, warfare with Europeans, and the shattering effects of De Soto's entrada destroyed the most powerful and complex cultures north of Mesoamerica.

Archaeologist, historian, and ordinary reader alike will find these books fascinating and important.

5.0 out of 5 stars My Wonderful Ancestors Brought To Life, December 1, 2011

By 

Happy Camper (Oregon Coast) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The De Soto Chronicles: The Expedition of Hernando de Soto to North America in 1539-1543 (Two Volume Set) (Paperback)

These books have been a very special part of my library. As a person with American Indian heritage, I don't have the rich written history of my Native Ancestors that I have for my European. Indians and the rest of the world have been given some very twisted views of who our ancestors were; in movies like "Dances With Wolves," which paints them as cartoon characters, who kidnap white women and live in Disneyland theme parks, outfitted with tee pees. Indians didn't develop written language that allows us to look back, but we do have this example to use as a window back. While these books are written from a Catholic ethnocentric point of view, they still offer-up a wealth of ethnological information about who we were, how we lived, and the relations we had with the world around us.

My ancestors were encountered by this party in the first few months of their journey, in what is now the Tennessee and Georgia area. When I read, and re-read the lines of this story, I almost feel like I am back there with them. I can picture the villages, the lodges, the battles and the customs of my much maligned people. All people who have American Indian ancestry should be allowed to read these books, and come to know the true and rich story of who their ancestors were. I thank the people who put these translations together, and I thank the publishers, for giving me my ancestors, without Hollywood painting them a clowns.