Hernando de Soto

Hernando de Soto (1500-1542) was a Spanish explorer and conquistador who traveled to the New World and took part in the exploration of the coast of Nicaragua together with Francisco Hernández de Córdoba. He also participated in the conquest of Peru, and was one of the first Europeans to enter the territory of the current United States.

He was governor of the island of Cuba between 1538 and 1539, the year in which he set out to conquer La Florida after learning of the riches described by Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca. This venture would eventually cost him his life near the Mississippi River.