The Discovery and Conquest of Terra Florida,

£200 · Offered by Shapero Rare Books

Hernando de Soto (c.1497-1542) was a Spanish explorer and conquistador who was involved in expeditions in Nicaragua and the Yucatan Peninsula. He is best known for leading the first European expedition deep into the territory of the modern-day United States (through Florida, Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, Mississippi, and most likely Arkansas). He is the first European documented as having crossed the Mississippi River. De Soto's North American expedition was a vast undertaking. It ranged throughout what is now the south-eastern United States, searching both 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. First edition of this translation, Hakluyt Society First Series, XXXIV; 8vo (22.5 x 15 cm); folding map as frontispiece, ex libris Inner Temple Library with bookplates and stamps, withdrawn stamp to titles, small marginal tear to hinge of map; original publisher's gilt blue cloth, some dampstaining to boards, spine darkened with slight chipping to head, internally a very good copy; 4, [6], lxvii, 200, vpp.

• Binding: Hardcover

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