#2 DeSoto Map DeSoto, circa 1544 $35 $245 framed

Click for map detail

This quill and ink sketch is likely to be the first map based upon an actual inland exploration of the present day United States to show the Appalachian Mountains, the flow of rivers to the Atlantic, and the location of Indian villages. A mother map of first importance, the geographical outline was the basis for charts of mapmakers for over a century. Found among the papers of Alonzo de Santa Cruz, royal cosmographer to Charles V, the map reflects the official Spanish conception of the area from the Cape Fear River to the Panuco River in Mexico. The Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountains are depicted.

In 1539, conquistador Hernando DeSoto, accompanied by 600 soldiers, 2 women, 300 pigs, and 223 horses, arrived in Tampa Bay in 9 ships. He traveled inland 3,000 miles in search of gold and other treasure. The trip ended in disaster as DeSoto died of fever in 1542 along the banks of the Mississippi River. The map was probably drawn from information gained from surviving members of the expedition. This copy was obtained from the Archives of the Indies, Seville, Spain.

Image Size: 23 1/2 x 17 1/8

< Back