Editing Hernando de Soto (section)

=== 1540: The Southeast ===
From their winter location in the western panhandle of Florida, having heard of gold being mined "toward the sun's rising", the expedition turned northeast through what is now the modern state of [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Seibert |first1=David |title=De Soto in Georgia |url=http://georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu/topics/historical_markers/county/baldwin/desoto-in-georgia |website=GeorgiaInfo: an Online Georgia Almanac |publisher=Digital Library of Georgia |access-date=4 November 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Seibert |first1=David |title=De Soto in Georgia |url=http://georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu/topics/historical_markers/county/bibb/desoto-in-georgia1 |website=GeorgiaInfo: an Online Georgia Almanac |publisher=Digital Library of Georgia |access-date=7 November 2016}}</ref> Based on archaeological finds made in 2009 at a remote, privately owned site near the [[Ocmulgee River]], researchers believe that de Soto's expedition stopped in [[Telfair County, Georgia|Telfair County]]. Artifacts found here include nine glass [[trade beads]], some of which bear a [[Chevron bead|chevron pattern]] made in [[Venice]] for a limited period of time and believed to be indicative of the de Soto expedition. Six metal objects were also found, including a silver pendant and some iron tools. The rarest items were found within what researchers believe was a large council house of the indigenous people whom de Soto was visiting.<ref>{{cite web |title=Archaeologists Track Infamous Conquistador Through Southeast |work=Science Daily |publisher=ScienceDaily LLC |date=5 November 2009 |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091105084838.htm |access-date=14 November 2010 |author=Fernbank Museum of Natural History |author-link=Fernbank Museum of Natural History}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.ajc.com/news/fernbank-archaeologist-confident-he-189165.html |last=Pousner |first=Howard |title=Fernbank archaeologist confident he has found de Soto site |work=[[The Atlanta Journal-Constitution]] |date=6 November 2009 |access-date=14 November 2010}}</ref>

The expedition continued to present-day [[South Carolina]]. There the expedition recorded being received by a female chief (''[[The Lady of Cofitachequi]]''), who gave her tribe's pearls, food and other goods to the Spanish soldiers. The expedition found no gold, however, other than pieces from an earlier coastal expedition (presumably that of [[Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón]].)

[[File:De Soto burns Mabila HRoe 2008.jpg|thumb|left|De Soto's men burn [[Mabila]], illustration by [[Herb Roe]]]]
De Soto headed north into the [[Appalachian Mountains]] of present-day western [[North Carolina]], where he spent a month resting the horses while his men searched for gold. De Soto next entered eastern [[Tennessee]]. At this point, de Soto either continued along the [[Tennessee River]] to enter [[Alabama]] from the north (according to [[John R. Swanton]]), or turned south and entered northern [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] (according to [[Charles M. Hudson]]). Swanton's final report, published by the Smithsonian, remains an important resource<ref>''Final Report of the United States De Soto Expedition Commission''. John R. Swanton with an Introduction by Jeffrey P. Brain. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C., 1985.</ref> but Hudson's reconstruction of the route was conducted 40 years later and benefited from considerable advances in archaeological methods.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Blanton |first=DB |title=Conquistador's wake : tracking the legacy of Hernando de Soto in the indigenous Southeast |publisher=University of Georgia Press |year=2020 |isbn=978-0-8203-5635-8 |pages=107–108}}</ref>

De Soto's expedition spent another month in the [[Coosa chiefdom]] a vassal to [[Tuskaloosa]], who was the [[paramount chief]],{{citation needed|date=April 2017}} believed to have been connected to the large and complex [[Mississippian culture]], which extended throughout the Mississippi Valley and its tributaries. De Soto turned south toward the [[Gulf of Mexico]] to meet two ships bearing fresh supplies from [[Havana]]. De Soto demanded women and servants, and when Tuskaloosa refused, the European explorers took him hostage.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Heritage History – Products |url=https://www.heritage-history.com/index.php?c=resources&s=char-dir&f=tuscaloosa |access-date=6 March 2022 |website=www.heritage-history.com}}</ref> The expedition began making plans to leave the next day, and Tuskaloosa gave in to de Soto's demands, providing bearers for the Spaniards. He informed de Soto that they would have to go to his town of ''[[Mabila]]'' (or ''Mauvila''), a fortified city in southern Alabama,<ref name="maubilianind">"The Old Mobile Project Newsletter" (PDF). ''University of South Alabama Center for Archaeological Studies''.</ref> to receive the women. De Soto gave the chief a pair of boots and a red cloak to reward him for his cooperation.<ref>[[Charles M. Hudson (author)|Hudson, Charles M.]] (1997). ''Knights of Spain, Warriors of the Sun''. [[University of Georgia Press]]. pp. 230–232.</ref> The [[Mabila|Mobilian]] tribe, under chief Tuskaloosa, ambushed de Soto's army.<ref name="maubilianind" /> Other sources suggest de Soto's men were attacked after attempting to force their way into a cabin occupied by Tuskaloosa.<ref name="mobilenew">{{Cite book | last =Higginbotham | first =Jay | year =2001 | title =Mobile, The New History of Alabama's First City | location =Tuscaloosa | publisher =The University of Alabama Press | page =10  | isbn =0-8173-1065-7 }}</ref> The Spaniards fought their way out, and retaliated by burning the town to the ground. During the nine-hour encounter, about 200 Spaniards died, and 150 more were badly wounded, according to the chronicler Elvas.<ref name="chronicles">{{Cite book | last1 =Clayton | first1 =Lawrence A. | last2 =Knight | first2 =Vernon J. |last3 =Moore | first3 = Edward C. | year =1993 | title =[[The De Soto Chronicles: The Expedition of Hernando De Soto to North America in 1539–1543]] | location =Tuscaloosa, Alabama | publisher =[[The University of Alabama Press]] }}</ref> Twenty more died during the next few weeks. They killed an estimated 2,000–6,000 Native Americans at Mabila, making the battle one of the bloodiest in recorded North American history.<ref name="Horwitz2009">{{cite book |author=Tony Horwitz |title=A Voyage Long and Strange: On the Trail of Vikings, Conquistadors, Lost Colonists, and Other Adventurers in Early America |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VrF9_VNnGIAC |access-date=3 March 2012 |date= 2009 |publisher=Macmillan |isbn=978-0-312-42832-7 |page=239}}</ref>

The Spaniards won a [[Pyrrhic victory]], as they had lost most of their possessions and nearly one-quarter of their horses. The Spaniards were wounded and sickened, surrounded by enemies and without equipment in an unknown territory.<ref name="mobilenew" /> Fearing that word of this would reach Spain if his men reached the ships at [[Mobile Bay]], de Soto led them away from the Gulf Coast. He moved into inland [[Mississippi]], most likely near present-day [[Tupelo, Mississippi|Tupelo]], where they spent the winter.