Native American Conquest,
DeSoto's Landing Port

Of the many attempts to locate Hernando de Soto's port of entry in Florida, none has been more influential than the United States Congress' Final Report of the U.S. DeSoto Expedition Commission in 1939: they say he landed at Tampa Bay. That Commission's conclusions, however, raise serious doubts about their credibility.

Their Report begins with their 1936 establishment, purpose, Presidential appointment of seven members, including one from Tampa Bay, and a summary of three meetings held by their group: the first in Washington, the second in Tampa, and the last in Alabama.

The Tampa meeting was held during that city's promotion of a "Pan American Exposition" to celebrate the 400th anniversary of DeSoto's landing. A host of "interested" Tampa dignitaries attended. The Commission was shown "territory around Tampa Bay, the region were DeSoto landed."

In 1937 Congress approved a Commission endorsed resolution "providing for participation by the United States in the Pan American Exposition to be held in Tampa in commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the landing of Hernando de Soto in Tampa Bay."

The Commission concluded, "it is beyond reasonable doubt that Narvaez (who landed one day's walk from DeSoto's port) landed on Pinellas Peninsula (on Tampa Bay, pp 121)..." and (thereby), "The location of DeSoto's port on the south side of Tampa Bay and near the sea is confirmed (pp 136, see map above)..."

Biedma, the King's Agent with DeSoto, says of his departure from port, "they marched west and northwest..." a course the Commission realized "...would have carried them into the Gulf of Mexico (pp 149)," but that, among other statements made by DeSoto's Chroniclers, didn't matter to them. Biedma's report is a signed eyewitness account of DeSoto's activity in America written for the King: Spain preserved that report.

Florida's leading anthropologist pointed out the errors in the Commission's selection, but to no avail. Ripley P. Bullen wrote, "Any Indian site to qualify as De Soto's Ucita (his landing place) must possess geographical attributes which agree with those assignable to that site by close reading of the De Soto narratives... "

The Commission's misidentification of DeSoto's port of entry in Florida led them astray. It became impossible for them to track DeSoto overland with the precision expected by today's scientists and students.