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Knights of Spain, Warriors of the Sun: Hernando de Soto and the South's Ancient Chiefdoms Paperback – January 15, 2018

by Charles M. Hudson (Author), Robbie Ethridge (Foreword)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 130 ratings
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Between 1539 and 1542 Hernando de Soto led a small army on a desperate journey of exploration of almost four thousand miles across the U. S. Southeast. Until the 1998 publication of Charles M. Hudson’s foundational Knights of Spain, Warriors of the Sun, De Soto’s path had been one of history’s most intriguing mysteries. With this book, anthropologist Charles Hudson offers a solution to the question, “Where did de Soto go?” Using a new route reconstruction, for the first time the story of the de Soto expedition can be laid on a map, and in many instances it can be tied to specific archaeological sites.

Arguably the most important event in the history of the Southeast in the sixteenth century, De Soto’s journey cut a bloody and indelible swath across both the landscape and native cultures in a quest for gold and personal glory. The desperate Spanish army followed the sunset from Florida to Texas before abandoning its mission. De Soto’s one triumph was that he was the first European to explore the vast region that would be the American South, but he died on the banks of the Mississippi River a broken man in 1542.

With a new foreword by Robbie Ethridge reflecting on the continuing influence of this now classic text, the twentieth-anniversary edition of Knights is a clearly written narrative that unfolds against the exotic backdrop of a now extinct social and geographic landscape. Hudson masterfully chronicles both De Soto’s expedition and the native societies he visited. A blending of archaeology, history, and historical geography, this is a monumental study of the sixteenth-century Southeast.

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  1. Print length
    600 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    University of Georgia Press
  4. Publication date
    January 15, 2018
  5. Dimensions
    6.14 x 1.5 x 9.21 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    9780820351605
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0820351605
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

The definitive work on this subject.

-- Library Journal

Hudson has brought alive the world changed by Hernando de Soto and the consequences for those whose home it was.

-- Times Literary Supplement

Hudson's masterful new book has raised the level of the discussion for all who will come after him, and he has made an invaluable contribution to the historical understanding of Native American life in the Southeast.

-- Southern Cultures

There is much to be learned from this volume. . . . [It] is likely to become the definitive work on the subject.

-- Latin American Perspectives

This book will stand as the most thorough analysis of the De Soto expedition produced since the 1930s.

-- Vernon J. Knight Jr. ― coeditor of The De Soto Chronicles: The Expedition of Hernando de Soto to North America in 1539-1543

No scholar has spent more energy, enthusiasm and passion in following Governor-General de Soto across the South-East of the United States than Hudson has.

-- Journal of European Economic History

A book of great and lasting importance, making major contributions to geographic, ethnographic, and historical scholarship . . . by far the most persuasive approximation of De Soto's route.

-- Mississippi Quarterly

Hovering between specialized archaeological research and compelling lay history, this work is destined for textbook status in the field of de Soto studies, and may shift some roadside markers along the way.

-- Oxford American

Well organized, engaging, and pithy―a real pleasure to read. ― American Anthropologist

Book Description

The twentieth-anniversary edition of a classic look at De Soto’s epic journey

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0820351601
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ University of Georgia Press; Reprint edition (January 15, 2018)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 600 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780820351605
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0820351605
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.84 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.14 x 1.5 x 9.21 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 130 ratings

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Charles M. Hudson

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Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
130 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Daniel Hurley
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Telling of Desotos 4 Year Trek and the Early American Indian Culture He Encountered
Reviewed in the United States on June 20, 2008
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While reading Tony Horwitz's recent book, "A Voyage Long and Strange: Rediscovering the New World", about his travels through the Americas to rediscover the early explorers and colonists that preceded Jamestown and Plymouth, I became fascinated with those who came to America a full 100 years before Jamestown, particularly Hernando De Soto's 4 year plunge into the wilderness of America with his 600 man army in 1539. In spite of failures by previous Spanish explorers, including one army that lost all but 4 men, De Soto marches throughout the entire southeast from Florida, as far north as Tennessee and North Carolina to as far west as northeast Texas in a vain search for gold and other precious metals. De Soto's journey is fascinating in that he marches through the wilderness and unknown with an unusual measure of confidence while encountering an amazing society of Indian tribes totally unlike what American's perceive of the Indian culture based on their knowledge of American Indians post Jamestown. These tribes had concentrated villages with advanced agricultural development, a networked culture with a central chief, an upper class and they utilized great mounds for the base of the homes of their chiefs and to a lesser degree, their other important tribal members. Based on eye witness accounts left in chronicles and secondary sources, Hudson, tells the story of De Soto's travels and encounters with the Indians that is even more fascinating by Hudson's ability, aided by archeology, to trace a pretty accurate mapping of De Soto's travels. The cruelty inflicted by De Soto and his followers seems counter productive particularly as they are frequently at war with the various tribes they encounter as they in turn depend on the Indians supplies for survival. Thus 220 years before Sherman's march, De Soto also lived off the land creating even greater devastation in his wake. What is very interesting is the detail about the Indians encountered, the names of the towns, biographies on the various chiefs, the detail of their lifestyle and the intriguing explanations of the built up mounds that are still present throughout southeast America. The initial part of the book provides a good history of the early Spanish explorations before de Soto, the closing chapters explains what may have happened to these advanced Indian cultures that were in apparent decline before de Soto and virtually melted away before the tribes known today became prevalent like the Cherokees, the Creeks, Chickasaws etc. The final section covers the great debate and documentation of De Soto's route that was seemingly well documented through the Smithsonian but has more recently been proven to be less accurate by current scholars such as Hudson. If you are only interested in de Soto's travels, this is the meat of the book and whether you have interest in the final sections, this is still one of the best books on De Soto and those lost American tribes who seem related to the Aztecs without the stone necessary to similar stone structures, they in turned built mounds.
17 people found this helpful
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Colin C. Baker
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent history and scholarship
Reviewed in the United States on May 18, 2023
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I picked up this book because I have lately been on a reading kick about the Spanish and Portuguese explorers. I was never particularly interested in American Indian (yes that is still acceptable) history. This book not only satisfied my craving to learn more about the explorers/conquistadors, but it also started a new interest for me in the Indians and has me wanting to read more about them. The author is truly an expert on these subjects. Everything you ever wanted to know about the people who lived in the southeast before the Europeans arrived is here and its fascinating. As discussed at the end, Its interesting to note that the way of life for these 16th century Indians is far different from the Indians that came after them, which would include tribes with names that are familiar to us now. There are lots of details about what the Spaniards observed in the countryside and how much it has changed since they first arrived. Whole forests with trees such as the American chestnut are now gone. In the "woke" 21 century the Spaniards are the bad guys, but no matter what you think of them it took a lot of guts to go wandering around the woods of the southeast in those days. I'm looking for more work by this author!
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Vince
4.0 out of 5 stars Little known history of the Spanish colonists in SE United States
Reviewed in the United States on March 19, 2024
Verified Purchase
Fascinating accounts of Spanish expeditions to the southeastern United States, and their encounters with Indian tribes.
Who among us knew that Spanish explorers/conquistadors had marched on foot from Florida to Texas by way bof the entire southeast?
The writing reads like a thriller except when it gets bogged down in describing the flora and fauna and a dry academic narrative takes over
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Harold G. Snellen
5.0 out of 5 stars Important book on Desoto's expedition in the Southeast
Reviewed in the United States on September 16, 2021
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The definitive book on Hernando Desoto's expedition into Southeast North America is The "Florida Of The Inca", written in 1549 by a Spanish educated Peruvian from first hand accounts of the survivors. Using archeological studies and his knowledge of native American history, Hudson fills in the blanks of this amazing chronicle that is our only real window into the pre-columbian southeast.Hudson also gives a narrative of what the pre-columbian landscape would have looked like, which is minimal in the Inca's account.
Be prepared though, for it is not a pretty picture of the manner in which the Native Americans were treated at first contact. DeSoto saw the natives as an expendable commodity that he could capture more of in the next village. Chiefs either met his demands or faced torture and death.
In short it is a scholarly book made very accessible to the interested reader
9 people found this helpful
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National Archaeology Quarterly Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars The Knight's Route Through America Confirmed
Reviewed in the United States on July 4, 2015
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In 1997 after more than fifteen years of research Professor Charles M. Hudson working with numerous scholars reconstructed the closest route to the Adelantado Hernando de Soto’s actual expedition thus far. The map was published that same year by the University of Georgia Press.

Accuracy of the research was confirmed in 2005 when an archaeological site discovered along Hudson’s reconstructed De Soto route revealed European artifacts dating from the 1500s. Later excavations at the White Ranch Site (MR03538 West) resolutely confirmed Spanish contact during the early part of the sixteenth century. The artifact evidence supported by XFR testing confirmed this is the area visited by Hernando de Soto the Spanish explorer and conquistador in August of 1539 and correlates with the evidence and progress ethnohistorians, anthropologists, and archaeologists contributed to reconstruct De Soto’s route in this wonderfully researched book.
One person found this helpful
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William Butler
5.0 out of 5 stars De Soto
Reviewed in the United States on June 1, 2021
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Wonderful story of the deSoto expedition through the SE (FL, GA, SC , NC, AL, AK, MS, , LA and TX). Hudsons command of the historic and archaeological literature clearly and convoncingly, shows deSotos route. His understanding of the literature, contribute greatly to our understanding of the various Indian chiefdoms in the the 1500s. A must read for historians and archaeologists.
5 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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J.L. Bonilla
5.0 out of 5 stars Una excelente historia de una expedición olvidada
Reviewed in Spain on July 27, 2020
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Este es un libro fabuloso a pesar de que la edición - compré la edición en pasta blanda - no es para tirar cohetes. Hay pocos mapas, son pequeños, y en blanco y negro. Pero el autor compensa con creces mediante una narración que, aun siendo exhaustiva, no pierde su pulso. Se nos cuenta un viaje emocionante de aventura y tragedia que, siendo parte de la historia de España y de América, ha caído en un injusto olvido. En España, al menos, se nos recuerda constantemente a Cortés y Pizarro, pero se pasa por alto a todos aquellos exploradores que - como de Soto en este libro - fracasaron. Este libro está pidiendo ser traducido al castellano.
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Mirko Arndt
5.0 out of 5 stars De Soto
Reviewed in Germany on October 18, 2014
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Informative und interessante Aufarbeitung der de soto Expedition 1539-1543 unter Berücksichtigung aller lokalen Umstände sowohl durch indigene Bevölkerung wie auch der Fauna und Flora:
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