PART II:
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SURVIVORS
1. Geographical
Origins
The best documented biographical information for the
Florida survivors is their places of birth; 240 of a total of 257
survivors have been located. All those known are listed in the right
hand column in Appendix I, according to the country or the Spanish
province in which they were born. The Spanish provinces have been
abbreviated as follows: AR = Aragon; AN = Andalucia; CN = Castilla la
Nueva; CV = Castilla la Vieja; EX = Extremadura; GL = Galicia; LN =
Leon; VZ = Vizcaya.
In his list of the Florida survivors Hernández
de Biedma indicated, in most cases, the town, city or Spanish province
in which they were born. Under a heading, foreigners and those from the
mountains, he listed other survivors, indicating after some of their
names, whether they were from the mountains, Galicia, Portugal, and in
the case of only one survivor, from Aragon. It is quite possible that
what he meant by "From the Mountains," were persons from the kingdom of
Aragon. However, in order to be as specific as possible, the one man
from Aragon, the Portuguese, the Galicians and one Frenchman, are
entered here under their corresponding places of origin. Those of
unknown origin but appearing under the indicated heading, are listed as
foreigners.
All the survivors whose places of birth are known
have been listed individually in Appendix I and grouped by province or
country of origin in Table 3. The percentage of Extremadurans is
prominent; 99 out of 240, or 41 percent. This should not be surprising,
however, since de Soto, who was from Jerez in the same region, actively
recruited, not only within its confines but across the border in
Portugal. The fact that earlier, Extremadurans had shared the immense
wealth from the conquest of the Inca empire in 1532, 39 percent were
from that region, must have motivated many Extremadurans to join de
Soto. [157] The same motivation may explain
the presence of the Portuguese, who came from the other side of the
Extremaduran border.
Table 3.
Places of Origin
Place of Origin | Number | Percent |
Spanish Provinces |
Andalucia | 29 | 12 |
Aragon | 1 |
|
Castilla la Nueva | 16 | 7 |
Extremadura | 99 | 41 |
Galicia | 7 | 3 |
Leon | 26 | 11 |
Vizcaya | 10 | 4 |
Foreign |
Portugal | 11 | 5 |
France | 1 |
|
Italy | 1 |
|
Other Foreigners | 4 | 2 |
Survivors: |
origin known | 240 | 100 |
Survivors: |
origin unknown | 17 |
|
Total | 257 |
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One important difference between the origin of the
survivors and that of other men engaged in different ventures in the New
World may be worthy of attention. When the Chilean historian Mario
Góngora analyzed the conquerors active in Tierra Firme in 1519 he
found that most came from Andalucia, the region where the point of
departure for the Indies was located, followed by the Extremadurans and
the Castilians. [158] From 1519 to 1539, the
Andalucians had been displaced by Extremadurans and Castilians who came
from areas located more to the Spanish north. As for the rest of the de
Soto survivors, their places of origin do not appear to indicate any
meaningful trend.
2. Ages of the
Survivors
Of the 257 documented survivors, the birth years of
57 are known. The oldest was born in 1498 and the youngest in 1525,
while the only surviving woman, Ana Mendez, declared she was born around
1530, a possible exaggeration of her youth. The known ages of the
survivors are noted in Appendix II, along with other biographical
information. Their birth dates were used to determine their ages at the
beginning of the Florida expedition in 1539, and the results obtained
are shown in Table 4. Judging from their average and mean ages, 24.6 and
24 respectively, it is clear that in general, they were fairly mature
young persons. None were older than the Adelantado who was about 42,
and, in general, the older men were officials in the army or the
administration.
Table 4.
Ages at the Beginning of the Florida Expedition in 1539
9 to 14 year | 2 |
15 to 19 | 13 |
20 to 24 | 15 |
25 to 29 | 15 |
30 to 34 | 7 |
35 to 39 | 4 |
40 to 44 | 1 |
Survivors of known ages | 57 |
Total known survivors | 257 |
Average age | 24.6 |
Mean age | 24 |
The data used to calculate the ages of the survivors
in 1539 was drawn from declarations in the various probanzas in which
they testified. Many stated they were over or under a certain age, and
many would give a rounded figure like 25 or 30, following it with the
usual poco mas o menos. Therefore, the ages used here may be
approximate, and with that caution they should be interpreted.
3. Education and
Literacy
It is clear that some of the survivors must have
received a reasonable education for their time. Specifically, Rodrigo
Rangel, who was also the personal secretary of de Soto, Luis
Hernandez de Biedma, Luis de Moscoso, Juan de Añasco, Juan
Coles and Alonso de Carmona all left writings that can witness their
education. As for the rest of the group, so little is known that an
assessment of their literacy lies in whether they knew how to sign their
names. Since witnesses in legal proceedings were required to sign their
declarations, this can be ascertained from the surviving documents. The
resulting data collected from available documents is displayed
individually in Appendix II.
Many survivors were required, at some point, to sign
their names. Of these, only two declared that they did not know how to
write. They were Ana Mendez and Francisco Redondo. As a consequence, for
their time especially, this group of survivors may have had an unusually
high literacy rate. According to this evidence, only three out of
sixty-three, or only 5 percent of them could not write. In comparison,
if signing ones name equates with literacy, it has been demonstrated by
historian James Lockhart, that 23% of the men who first conquered Peru
and dethroned the Inca Emperor were definitely illiterate, and some
additional percentage only marginally literate. [159]
4. Occupation
The known occupations of the survivors are shown in
Appendix II. These can be divided into two groups; those with a
commanding military rank such as captain, or an administrative post; and
those with a known profession or trade. Of the first group it is notable
that all three royal officials, the treasurer, the contador and the
factor, survived. They did not seem to have strenuous duties during the
expedition since they were charged with managing the treasure collected
from the natives, which was insignificant except, perhaps, for some poor
quality pearls which were later lost. Moscoso and Gallegos, each, at one
time or another, served as field marshal of the army. They as well as
eight captains, were able to reach Mexico. In addition, de Soto's
page, his secretary, and his aide, plus Don Carlos' maidservant and two
notaries survived. It appears then that the royal officers and the
military leaders fared well in the Florida expedition.
The other groups of survivors consist of those
individuals who practiced a private trade. Among them were three
shoemakers, seven tailors, one stocking-maker (who would now be
considered as a combination of tailor and shoemaker), one carpenter, two
ironsmiths, one sword smith and one caulker. Seven priests, friars, or
clerics, one foot-soldier, one sailor, and one trumpeter also survived
the expedition. In addition, the subsequent occupations of two other
persons are known; Espindola became an alguacil of the Inquisition in
Mexico and Gonzalo Mendez became a trader.
5. Marital
Status
It is documented that twenty-one of the survivors
were or became married men, some with sons and daughters. Except for the
clerics and friars, none is known to be a bachelor because data is
lacking. Those known to be married are listed below, indicating, where
possible, the names of their wives.
Lope de Acuña | Elvira de Hermosilla. |
Juan de Añasco | Isabel de Añasco. |
Gómez Arias Maria | Castellou y de Lara. |
Pedro Arias de Cañedo | Isabel de Garay. |
Alonso Botello | a daughter of Diego Yañez. |
Juan Cordero | was married in Peru. |
Diego Cortes | a daughter of Alonso de Buiza. |
Luis Daza | daughter of Diego Valades. |
Cristóbal de Espindola | a Francisca Castaño. |
Juan Gaitan | Catalina de Zarate. |
Baltasar de Gallegos | Maria de Guzman. |
Sebastian Hernández | the widow of Diego Hernández. |
Vicente Martinez | was married. |
Juan de Miranda | Francisca Mejia. |
Pedro Moreno | a daughter of Pedro Calero |
Garcia Osorio | Isabel de Marmolejo. |
Bernaldo Peloso | a daughter of Lucas Ginoves. |
Rodrigo Rangel | Catalina Jimenez |
Bartolome Rodriguez | a daughter of Alonso Caballero. |
Hernan Suarez de Maruelas | Ines de Valgrande. |
Luis de Valdivieso | a daughter of Pedro Carranza. |
Antonio Velazquez | was married. |
Sebastian de Villegas | was married. |
6. Social Status
Considering the available evidence, de Soto's men
were, in general, commoners with the possible exception of several
hidalgos. Those claiming to belong to this lowest level of nobility
were: Alonso de Argote, Luis Daza, Cristóbal Espindola, Baltasar
Gallegos, Gonzalo Mendez, Juan de Miranda, Luis de Moscoso, Garcia
Osorio, and Sebastian de Villegas. Antonio Osorio was the second son of
the Marquis of Astorga. Being a member of even the lesser nobility was
quite important at that time, for it meant that one enjoyed certain
privileges, one of which was exemption from personal taxes. In addition,
when a person asked the Crown for a special favor or dispensation,
having long family roots in Spain and Christianity were two valued
assets mentioned often by the petitioner.
7. Destinations after
Florida
All of the survivors accounted for reached the port
of Pánuco in New Spain. Four were sick enough to remain in
Pánuco instead of continuing with the rest to Mexico City.
Left ailing were Juan Ruiz, Enriquez, Vicente Martinez, and Arias the
Galician. Once the rest reached Mexico City, some remained there
while others returned to Spain or went on to Peru and other places in
the Spanish Empire. Those whose final destinations are known are listed
in Appendix II. Since several of these resided in more than one place
for significant amounts of time, I have listed both places to indicate
where future research should be conducted. They are doubly accounted for
in the following comment.
The final destinations of 86 conquerors have been
recorded. Of these, eight have been listed with two destinations.
Fifty-nine stayed in Mexico, 18 went to Peru, 15 returned to
Spain, 1 returned to Cuba and it seems that one went to the New Kingdom
of Granada. Much remains to be learned about the destinations of other
survivors. Consider only what Alonso de Carmona wrote: "I have already
said the we came from Pánuco in squads of fifteen or twenty
soldiers, and in that way we entered the great City of Mexico...
All those of my squad decided to go to pay their respects to the Viceroy
Don Antonio de Mendoza ... and he gave orders that we should not go
hence until they clothed us. And after we were clothed we paid him our
respects and departed, thanking him for the favour and kindness which he
had shown us. And we all went to Peru." [160] Besides Carmona's squad, there had to be
many more who followed. Peru continued for some time to be the place for
a conqueror who dreamed of riches.
8. Conclusions
Part II of this study analyzed the characteristics of
the Florida survivors. Based upon these findings, the typical conqueror
who accompanied Hernando de Soto in that venture was a male Spaniard
born either in Extremadura or Castilla, 24 years old at the beginning of
the expedition, and literate or at least knew how to sign his name. He
was most likely a commoner by birth and, in a few cases, an hidalgo. Not
being a military leader or an administrator, his chances of survival
were reduced to roughly fifty percent. From Florida he went to the port
of Pánuco in New Spain, and most likely he arrived in the great
city of Tenochtitlan which was subsequently renamed Mexico City.
He remained in Mexico or proceeded to Peru, married a daughter of
a known conqueror and settled down.
Had de Soto lived or had his successor, Luis de
Moscoso, decided to remain and settle the newly discovered land, this
typical Florida conqueror, as J. R. Swanton pointed out, would not have
missed the one great opportunity of his life, and his country missed its
opportunity along with him. [161]
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