BGuthrie Photos: FL -- De Soto Natl Memorial

FL -- De Soto Natl Memorial:

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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. SOTO_060116_016.JPG: De Soto Trail Monument: The De Soto Trail Monument was placed here by the National Society of Colonial Dames of America. The granite monument was dedicated on May 30, 1939, during the 400th anniversary of the landfall of the Hernando de Soto expedition. In 1948, this monument and surrounding acreage were donated to the National Park Service. The text of the monument reads: "Near here, Hernando de Soto with his men landed May 30, 1539 and began his march westward to the Mississippi River. This marker commemorates the 400th anniversary of his arrival on the shores of Florida." About Gumbo Limbo Trees: Also called West Indian birch or gum elemi, the gum limbo tree is native to Florida. It ranges from Cape Canaveral southward to the West Indies and Central America. Gumbo limbo tree cuttings are used as living fence posts in Cuba and the West Indies. The red, aromatic resin was used for the treatment of gout and as a varnish. Legend states that pirates carried gumbo limbo limbs with them to mark the burial spots of their treasure. Some refer to the gumbo limbo as the "tourist tree" because it stands in the sun, turns red, and peels. The gumbo limbo trees surrounding the monument are some of the largest registered examples in the country and are thought to have been here since the 1930s.
2. SOTO_060116_048.JPG: "You give me the cross to defend myself against my enemies, with that same cross you wish to destroy me." -- Chief of Casqui's reply to De Soto, per Rodrigo Rangel's account in June 1541, near the Mississippi River in Arkansas. In 1537, the King of Spain, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, granted Hernando de Soto permission to "conquer and pacify" the land of La Florida. This royal mandate required De Soto to provide the "instruction of the natives (of La Florida) in the Holy Catholic Faith." De Soto fulfilled this obligation by providing passage and supplies for eight priests and four Dominican friars during the expedition. For four years and nearly four thousand miles, the priests and friars endured the many hardships and perils of the journey.
3. SOTO_060116_080.JPG: Holy Eucharist Monument and Memorial Cross: The Hernando de Soto Catholic Memorial, also known as the Holy Eucharist Monument, and the Memorial Cross, just across the bridge from here, are owned by the Catholic Diocese of Venice, Florida. The base stone of this monument was quarried and cut in Mankato, Minnesota, and the stone carving came from Madrid, Spain. A nine-foot bronze statue of Hernando de Soto, no longer here, was cast and sculpted by Enrique Perez Comendador and placed upon the monument. Inscribed on the removed plaque: "Hernando de Soto, 1500-1542, Conquistador of the Faith, Explorer of Florida, Discoverer of the Mississippi River." The Catholic Diocese of Venice in Florida erected the Memorial Cross here in 1995. It is dedicated to all the priests serving in Florida, beginning with the twelve priests and friars who accompanied the 1539 De Soto expedition. The statue and monument were first exhibited at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Madrid, then at the New York World's Fair in 1965, followed by the Manatee County Fair in 1966 and 1967. As a result of vandalism, the statue was removed from this site and now stands at the South Florida Museum and Bishop Planetarium in downtown Bradenton, Florida.
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Wikipedia Description: De Soto National Memorial
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

De Soto National Memorial, 5 miles (8 km) west of Bradenton, Florida, commemorates the 1539 landing of Hernando de Soto and the first extensive organized exploration by Europeans of what is now the southern United States.

De Soto expedition:

In May of 1539, Hernando de Soto and an army of over 600 soldiers landed in the Tampa Bay area. They arrived in nine ships laden with supplies: two hundred and twenty horses, a herd of pigs, war dogs, cannon, matchlock muskets, armor, tools, and rations. They were executing the order of King Charles V to sail to La Florida and "conquer, populate, and pacify" the land.

The expedition did not yield the gold and treasure these men sought. Instead, they marched from one village to the next, taking food and enslaving the native peoples to use as guides and porters. Hundreds of lives lost on this calamitous four year, four thousand mile journey. The de Soto expedition would change the face of the American Southeast forever, and cause Spain to reevaluate her role in the New World. Ultimately, it was the first hand accounts of survivors, describing the native cultures and the richness of the land, which became the journey's enduring legacy.

Historic recognition:

The national memorial was authorized on March 11, 1948. As with all historic areas administered by the National Park Service, the national memorial was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966.

The mission of De Soto National Memorial is to preserve the controversial story of this exploration and interpret its significance in American history. Visitors can attend living history demonstrations, try on a piece of armor, or walk the nature trail through a Florida coastal landscape similar to the one encountered by conquistadors almost five hundred years ago.
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Directly Related Pages: Other pages with content (FL -- De Soto Natl Memorial) directly related to this one: [Display ALL photos on one page]:
- 2002_FL_DeSoto: FL -- De Soto Natl Memorial (14 photos from 2002)
Same Subject: Click on this link to see coverage of items having the same subject: [History 1500s] [Display ALL History 1500s photos] [Park (National Park Service)]
2006 photos: Trips this year: Florida (two separate trips including Lotusphere and taking care of mom), three weeks out west (including Yellowstone), Williamsburg, San Diego (comic book convention), and Georgia. Equipment this year: I was using all six Fuji cameras at various times -- an S602Zoom, two S7000s,a S5200, an S9000, and an S9100. The majority of pictures this year were taken with the S9000. I have to say, the S7000s was the best camera I've used up to this point.. Number of photos taken this year: 183,000.
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