DeSoto National Monument

 On Friday post I showed you the fence, actually it is the fort wall that surrounds the encampment of huts made from palm fronds.
It boggles my mind that they were supposed to be Christians and planted crosses everywhere they went, but murdered and tortured as they followed their path through North America.

Hernando de Soto (1500?-1542)
Conquistador

Hernando Desoto was granted the rights to conquer Florida and was named governor of Cuba in 1537.
De Soto arrived here on the west coast of Florida on May 30, 1539 with 10 ships carrying over 600 soldiers, priests, and explorers.
They spent four years searching for gold and silver, exploring the area, and brutally mistreating native societies, including the Cherokees, Seminoles, Creeks, Appalachians, and Choctaws.
 excerpt from Enchanted Learning.

 I found nothing good to be said about this man.  He was a prime example of the brutality and savage nature of the sixteenth-century Europeans who invaded North America. He wreaked havoc from Cuba to Florida and up through Georgia, Mississippi, Texas and Mexico in his 42 years of life.

 The Museum and Park are part of our Historic Heritage and is listed on the National Historic Register

There are acres of beautiful wet lands and trails through the mangroves and along the Manatee river that leads into Tampa Bay, also called Spirit Bay because Desoto named it Espiritu Santo (Holy Spirit).

 Above and below a broom for sweeping out the fire pits, made from palm fronds

Tomorrow, I will show you how they used the palm fronds to build the hut below.

Click on any photo to see a slide show in larger sizes.

If you are interested in the history of the place, go to Floripedia for A History of Florida, DeSoto, Hernando