Great Spanish world dexplorer,  conquistador and Knight Order of Santiago

Spanish  explorer  and  conquistador  who was involved in expeditions in  Nicaragua  and the  Yucatan Peninsula. He played an important role in  Francisco Pizarro's  conquest of the Inca Empire  in Peru,and Havana, but is best known for leading the first European expedition deep into the territory of the modern-day United States (through  Florida,  Georgia,  Alabama,  Mississippi, and most likely  Arkansas). He is the first European documented as having crossed the  Mississippi River.^[5]

De Soto's North American expedition was a vast undertaking. It ranged throughout what is now the  southeastern United States, both searching for gold, which had been reported by various Native American tribes and earlier coastal explorers, and for a passage to  China  or the Pacific coast. De Soto died in 1542 on the banks of the Mississippi River;^[6]  different sources disagree on the exact location, whether it was what is now  Lake Village, Arkansas, or  Ferriday, Louisiana.

who was involved in expeditions in  Nicaragua  and the  Yucatan Peninsula. He played an important role in  Francisco Pizarro's  conquest of the Inca Empire  in Peru, but is best known for leading the first European expedition deep into the territory of the modern-day United States (through  Florida,  Georgia,  Alabama,  Mississippi, and most likely  Arkansas). He is the first European documented as having reached and crossed the  Mississippi River.

De Soto's North American expedition was a vast undertaking. It ranged throughout what is now the  southeastern United States, both searching for gold, which had been reported by various Native American tribes and earlier coastal explorers, and for a passage to  China  or the Pacific coast. De Soto died in 1542 on the banks of the Mississippi River;^[6]  different sources disagree on the exact location, whether it was what is now  Lake Village, Arkansas, or  Ferriday, Louisiana.