Obsolete de Soto Trail Theory
Perhaps some qualification of this thesis is in order, given its departure from the long-standing contention that Hernando de Soto came to North America to explore for gold. That contention is founded in a misunderstanding of where de Soto, Spain's foremost American explorer, actually traveled. Since 1939 when Dr. John R. Swanton accepted Henry Rowe Schoolcraft's de Soto Trail theory of 1857, academics have concluded the same things about de Soto's motives for North American exploration. That conclusion, however, has some serious flaws.
Historians relinquished the study of conquest trails to archaeologists when Dr. Swanton pronounced that their new science would eventually prove his theory. Their crowning achievement: finding a few de Soto era artifacts in Tallahassee FL which, they say, proves de Soto wintered there. Florida's Capitol city, its most excavated place, has, thereby, grossly misled others by claiming to be de Soto's pivotal turning point in Florida; all to an historic loss for millions of Americans.
The internet ushered in a decentralization of ideology. Once the domain of archaeology alone, broader sharing of ideas from other sciences - geography, cartography, astrophysics and sociology - brought with it an emergence of perspective which transcends ancient conquest trail ideology. These new scientific tools are available to today's ambitious students.
This project provides a fresh start at understanding de Soto's journey and, thereby, his motive for coming here. 20th Century pockets of power once slowed advances in historic understanding. The internet's mass publication capability allows disinterested publication of ideas counter to the establishment. D.E.S. 10/2011