Spanish conquistador and explorer Hernando DeSoto made landfall near here on the south shore of Tampa Bay in 1539. We arrived slightly later.

There is a National Monument here documenting DeSoto's exploits. He was, like most of the 16th century Spaniards in the New World searching for gold. To say he was ruthless in that pursuit would be putting it mildly. He killed or subjugated the native peoples he encountered, and destroyed his army in the process. They wandered ever deeper into North America, as far north as present North Carolina and west to Arkansas. Along the way two-thirds of his party died, including DeSoto himself.