Talk:Hernando de Soto

Facts need verification

There are many facts on the article page that need verification. Please insert footnotes/citations/references to support statements, and cite page numbers from references. As it stands, the article is more like an essay than an encyclopedia entry. Please refer to the following for helpful information: Verifiability • Reliable sources • Citing sources — Ayapota (talk) 13:04, 23 August 2008 (UTC) {{citations missing}}

After-effects

The article refers to his having brought pigs into North America, but does not discuss the likelihood of the spread of swine influenza among the Native American population, which was lethal. His account of the expedition describes a widely populated area, which Sieur de la Salle, 140 years later, found quite deserted. Maybe someone with expertise in early North American history can put some info here. —AmadorUSA (talk • contribs) 17:59, 18 September 2008 (UTC)

• Also need to mention they discovered the natives were experienced warriors who constantly fought and killed each other (not as peace-pipe "noble savages"). Should compare with how many were killed by other native tribes during 140 years. -Wikid77 13:35 23 November 2009

ISBN

The ISBN number for the reference Hernando de Soto: A Savage Quest in the Americas is incorrect. —Parestrep (talk • contribs) 21:12, 29 September 2008 (UTC)

fixed--Glendoremus (talk) 01:49, 1 October 2008 (UTC)

constant vandalism

Isn't there a way to block IP editers from editing this page? This page is under constant vandalism. I know he was one of the worst human beings who ever lived, but come on, vandalizing his wiki article is kinda childish. Some of the IP editers return over and over, it's the same addresses. Anybody with admin powers wanna block few of them? —Heironymous Rowe (talk • contribs) 04:49, 1 October 2008 (UTC)

• The article was protected in 2009 on 03-Nov-09 for 1 year. -Wikid77 13:35 23 November 2009

Proper capitalization

I'm seeing Hernando de Soto referred to as De Soto, de Soto and simply Soto. Which is correct? We need to simply and standardize throughout the article.

I believe it ought to be "de Soto," except of course when it's the beginning of the sentence, in which case it's "De Soto." I don't think "Soto" is right.--Cúchullain ^t/c 22:04, 3 November 2008 (UTC)

Thanks. I saw Soto in a reference work and wanted to check. JodyB _talk 22:13, 3 November 2008 (UTC)

• In many American documents, the name is capitalized as "De Soto" (or "DeSoto") so I added also "De Soto" (in 2009) plus a footnote explaining the American documents. Both should be listed because the 100+ years of recent American documents cannot be "undone" to use "de Soto" as the spelling. It's like common spellings "Van Gogh" or "Da Vinci" (not as "The da Vinci Code"). -Wikid77 13:35 23 November 2009

Its still incorrect and irrelevant. And why don't you stop adding code to other peoples signatures? Its distracting and un needed. Heironymous Rowe (talk) 17:07, 23 November 2009 (UTC)

Hernando the Great

Hernando De Soto (c.1496/1497 - 1542) was a Spanish explorer and conquistador who, while leading the first European expedition deep into the territory of the modern-day United States, was the first European to discover the Mississippi River.

A vast undertaking, de Soto's expedition ranged throughout the southeastern United States searching for gold and a passage to China. De Soto died in 1542 on the banks of the Mississippi River at present-day Lake Village, Arkansas.

Hernando de Soto was born to parents who were hidalgos of modest means in Extremadura, a region of poverty and hardship from which many young people looked for ways to seek their fortune elsewhere. Two towns—Badajoz and Barcarrota—claim to be his birthplace. All that is known with certainty is that he spent time as a child at both places, and he stipulated in his will that his body be interred at Jerez de los Caballeros, where other members of his family were also interred.[1] The age of the Conquerors came on the heels of the Spanish reconquest of the Iberian peninsula from Islamic forces. Spain and Portugal were filled with young men begging for a chance to find military fame after the Moors were defeated. With discovery of new lands to the west (which seemed at the time to be East Asia), the whispers of glory and wealth were too compelling for the poor.

De Soto sailed to the New World in 1514 with the first Governor of Panama, Pedrarias Dávila. Brave leadership, unwavering loyalty, and clever schemes for the extortion of native villages for their captured chiefs became de Soto's hallmark during the Conquest of Central America. He gained fame as an excellent horseman, fighter, and tactician, but was notorious for the extreme brutality with which he wielded these gifts.

During that time, Juan Ponce de León, who discovered Florida, Vasco Núñez de Balboa, who discovered the Pacific Ocean (he called it the "South Sea" below Panama), and Ferdinand Magellan, who first sailed that ocean to the Orient, profoundly influenced de Soto's ambitions. —68.154.35.122 (talk) 21:44, 6 October 2009 (UTC)

• the de in de Soto is not capitalized, unless the de comes as the first word in a sentence. Just like Juan Ponce de León or Vasco Núñez de BalboaHeironymous Rowe (talk) 22:00, 6 October 2009 (UTC)
  • And are you suggesting this as the new lede for the article? I'm not sure why you posted this. Also, please sign your posts with ~~~~ (four tildas), so the sinebot wont keep having too.Heironymous Rowe (talk) 22:04, 6 October 2009 (UTC)

Voyages

De Soto made 3 voyages — Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.3.84.59 (talk • contribs) 17:55, 12 October 2009 (UTC) He went to peru with Francisco Pizzaro and went to conquer the Incas.209.6.240.72 (talk) 23:41, 6 November 2009 (UTC)

Under the heading "1539 to early-1540 in Florida," second paragraph, there's a spelling error. From the context it's clear that "council" should be "counsel." Igor4458 (talk) 03:45, 10 November 2009 (UTC)

WP:SOFIXIT. Every word of this article was written by someone no more important than you. Feel free to clean it up as you see fit! --Jayron32 03:48, 10 November 2009 (UTC)

FIXED.Heironymous Rowe (talk) 04:24, 10 November 2009 (UTC)

Alternate route removed

I've removed the entire "alternate route" section per WP:Bold as being WP:OR and WP:Fringe. The entire section was sourced to a single website [1], written by a self styled "avocational" researcher. If some WP:RSs can be found, so be it. But in the several books I have on the subject, only the details are up for debate, not the entire second half of the route. Recently, some new dicoveries in Georgia (U.S. State) [2] could rewrite a small section there, but it could be awhile before a new map is published by a reliable source. When it does, I'll redo the current maps to reflect the changes. Heironymous Rowe (talk) 09:44, 10 November 2009 (UTC)

The basic gist of the "alternate route" theory that makes it so different, is that the contemporary chroniclers agree that De Soto travelled "north" from Alabama to get to Chickasa. This would take them directly to Chickasaw Old Fields on the Tennessee, rather than "westward" into Mississippi, which is alleged to be an unwarranted assumption of earlier historians. The theory also holds that the subsequent directions given by the chroniclers would all make better sense with the geography, if the north direction is correct at this point rather than the assumed westerly one.

"OR" is an in-house term referring to material that was concocted by a wikipedian, which this isn't. Even if it is "fringe", it would warrant some kind of mention as a prominent theory. Also it may not be NPOV for wikipedia to endorse the proposed Mississippi route. Til Eulenspiegel (talk) 12:38, 10 November 2009 (UTC)

It warrants inclusion only if its a valid theory, published by more than one avocational researcher. Many other professional historians such as Patricia Galloway, Charles M. Hudson (author) and David Ewing Duncan have written promininent works on the subject in the last 10 to 15 years. Many others in the archaeological field have published papers about specific sites in relationship to the route. The route is in dispute in details only. As for being a prominent theory, if so, there should be more reliable resources than one avocational writers website to support its conclusion. Heironymous Rowe (talk) 17:59, 10 November 2009 (UTC)

What could show the prominence more than the 4 out of 5 rating from PHRC? [3] (It mainly didn't score a full 5 because of the poor aesthetics of the web layout) Til Eulenspiegel (talk) 18:27, 10 November 2009 (UTC)

As per above, reliable sources other than Donald Sheppard, the avocational writer of the one website used to source the section. Heironymous Rowe (talk) 18:42, 10 November 2009 (UTC)

Inconsistency

The opening paragraph states that De Soto was the first European to see the Mississippi. The body of the article says it is unclear whether De Soto was the first European to see the Mississippi. 76.23.157.102 (talk) 03:31, 12 December 2009 (UTC)

Fixed the wording in the lead to match the wording in the body of the article. Thanks for catching that. --Jayron32 03:47, 12 December 2009 (UTC)

A similar inconsistency: the main image caption says De Soto died in Arkansas, while the body of the article says that it is unknown whether he died in Arkansas or in Louisiana. This entire article should be vetted for consistent (and hence accurate) information.76.23.157.102 (talk) 01:56, 1 January 2010 (UTC)