The fact that no other Spanish expedition was dispatched after DeSoto's to explore deep into North America is, in itself, argument enough to suspect that DeSoto had done so, given that Spain and Portugal successfully explored and/or colonized ALL of the New World elsewhere. Had Desoto found what he was looking for - the South Sea and, thereby, a passage to China - we would all be speaking Spanish today.

As for other DeSoto Trail Theories put forth over the years, one might simply note their want of precision. Desoto simply traveled roads which are highways today, between places which are cities today, and timed his movements to take advantage of various moon phases. Not one other DeSoto Trail Theory approaches the detail of this report. In fact, since the publication of this thesis in 1994, not one scholar has publicly challenged any part of it.

  Full Text, Maps & Images     Text & Maps Only     Site Search