Cabeza de Vaca wanted to lead his own expedition that would bring the natives of the Americas into the Spanish empire and convert them to Christianity. Cabeza de Vaca knew that only if he were a command with the natives be treated with fairness and humanity. He therefore declined to join de Soto is expedition.

Hernando de Soto was a Spanish explorer and conquistador who participated in the conquests of Central America and Peru and discovered the Mississippi River.

Hernando de Soto is more known for being a conquistador. He helped conquer many lands in parts of Central and South America, including those of the Inca Empire. But he was also an explorer. De Soto explored and mapped parts of nine states in the southeastern part of the United States.

Native American: The Southeast Indians …through the expedition led by Hernando de Soto (1539–42).

De Soto’s Expedition to North America De Soto set out from Spain in April 1538, set with 10 ships and 700 men.

Soto is a Spanish surname.

Joliet’s mission was to find the river the natives called Messipi, “the Great Water,” and follow it to the sea. Marquette’s goal was to spread the word of his god among the people they encountered. On May 17, 1673, Marquette, Joliet, and five men on two birchbark canoes set off.

In 1673, the governor of New France, sent Jacques Marquette, a Catholic missionary, and Louis Joliet, a fur trader, along with seven other explorers on a mission to find the Northwest Passage. After portaging their canoes to the Wisconsin River, they entered the great Mississippi River on June 17, 1673.

It was in May of 1673 that the two men led an expedition to explore the unsettled areas of France in North America. They traveled from the Great Lakes region to the Gulf of Mexico.

What was Henry Hudson’s legacy? Henry Hudson contributed significantly to our understanding of the geography of North America, especially of its northeastern waterways. In his memory, several bodies of water that he navigated now bear his name: Hudson Bay, the Hudson River, and Hudson Strait.

Lacking food or supplies, the expedition greatly suffered in the extreme cold. Many of the crew held Hudson responsible for their misfortune, and on June 22, 1611, with the coming of summer, they mutinied against him.