MITTEN Community Template

Hi! My name is Hernando de Soto. If you've gone to Florida, you probably know me for clearing Florida for a colony. Here's how I did it and how I became an explorer.

I was born many, many years ago in Barcarrota, Spain, in the year 1500. When I was a young Spaniard, I set my eyes on three cool explorers. They were de Leon, de Balboa, and Magellan. Many, many years later, I joined Pizzaro in the quest for the Inca treasure. When we entered the Inca land, we rushed in and were the first Spaniards to see the ruler of the Inca. Later, Pizzaro enslaved the ruler and then drove a sword through his skull. Disliking Pizzaro's ways, I left and took half the Inca treasure. When I came back, I was a rich and wealthy Spaniard. After that, the king made me governor of Cuba and Florida.

The land was useless if there was not a colony there. After that, I started exploring Florida. As I traveled, I was running low on food. I stole grain from the villages, enslaved villagers, and burned down their villages. When I got to the Mississippi my men were tired, so I returned to Spain.

When I went back, I was ambushed. In 1542, I died of fever and was buried in the Mississippi so no one would think that I was immortal. Today, I'm important because I helped make Florida a place to live. That's how I cleared Florida for a colony.

Hello! I am Francisco Pizzaro! You may have heard of me before, but most of you haven't. I am a madman, which means I get very angry often.

I was born in 1476 in Trujilla, Spain. I was raised in poverty and I never learned to read and write.

I left Spain to go to the West Indies when I was about thirty years old. Hispaniola was the island I lived on. In 1509, I joined Alanso de Ojeda in an expedition to Columbia. I was serving under Vasco Nunez Balboa. He was my chief lieutenant by the time he found the Pacific Ocean and claimed it for Spain. Later, I served in Panama under the governor Pedrarias Davilo. He told me to arrest Balboa. He is the governor and I can't disobey him, so I arrested him.

While I was in Panama, I started hearing rumors about a golden rich land in the southern lands and the place was called the Inca Empire. I decided to see if these rumors were true or not. I asked for the king of Spain to have permission to see it. Once I saw the land right in front of me, I wanted to have it all for myself. I went back to my boat and sailed back to Spain.

Once I got to Spain, I went to tell the king all about my trip. He gave me permission to conquer the land. I soon raised an army and set sail back to the Inca Empire in 1532. When I reached Cajamarca, I wanted to surprise the Inca. I had a plan to join the Inca and their nobles at a feast in a public square. On November 16, 1532, Ataheialpa, the king of the Inca and many of his nobles went to meet us. They called us the children of the sun. They believed that we were gods to go visit them.

My troops numbered less than two hundred men. Once the nobles reached the public square, we broke our swords ready to fight. We rushed forward and killed the harmless and the harmed people. It was an ugly thing to see. No need to brad, but we defeated those people in half an hour. Some of my good men surrounded Ataheialpa and captured him alive. I held him for ransom. Ataheialpa offered me exactly what i wanted. He offered me two small rooms filled with silver. He also offered me a big room full of gold. Since it was what I wanted, I agreed. Messengers said it would be worth one hundred million dollars in today's money. Once I received all the money, he offered me, I broke my sword and executed him by sticking my sword through his head. He was executed on August 29, 1533. I then moved south to a place called Cusco. I governed Peru that I found in 1535.

Deago de Almagro was my; partner. Almagro and me struggled in friendship even though i granted him a place that is now called Chile. Almagro claimed Cusco and sized it. In 1538, Almagro led a war between us. The was was called Las Salinas. Almagro was killed in the war and his son, known as "Almagro the Lad", continues the war for his father's death. Nights away from the war, I was murdered in my palace in Lima in 1541.

We should remember me today because I am a Spanish conqueror who governed the Inca, Peru, and Lima. If you go to any of these places please remember who conquered the place.