[Illustration: De Soto’s army may well have come ashore at a spot on
Tampa Bay that resembled this beach within the park. Below: replica
armor and an early marker commemorating De Soto’s bold march.]
De Soto National Memorial commemorates the first major European
penetration of the southeastern United States. De Soto’s purpose,
sanctioned by the King, was to conquer the land Spaniards called _La
Florida_ and settle it for Spain. He failed in both objects. There was
no rich empire in the north, only a succession of chiefdoms, and his
practice of looting villages and grabbing hostages alienated native
inhabitants and turned his march into a siege. The lasting significance
of the expedition was the information it yielded about the land and its
Mississippian people in a late stage of that remarkable civilization.
The park was established in 1949 on the south shore of Tampa Bay. De
Soto’s fleet may very well have sailed by this point in May 1539 to a
landing spot farther around the bay. Attractions at the park include
replicas of the type of weapons carried by the expedition and thickets
of red mangrove, the so-called Florida land-builder. The journals tell
of De Soto’s men cutting their way inland through mangrove tangles.
For more information about the park and its programs, write:
Superintendent
De Soto National Memorial
P.O. Box 15390
Bradenton, FL 34280
[Illustration: Map]
[Illustration: Demonstrations in winter give insight into military
life and the Spanish world-view in the 16th century.]