Vespucci also sailed with Goncale Coelho in 1501 and again in 1503 as navigator for Portuguese voyages to Brazil. His subsequent letters about the "New World" inspired Martin Waldseemuller in 1508 to draw a world map and name the southern continent America. Very quickly the name was applied to all of the New World. Florida, on the Waldseemuller map, appears to be copied from Cantino.
A revision of the Waldseemuller map in 1513 is known as the Admiral's Map because it claimed to be based on a drawing by Columbus. More likely it reflects data supplied by Vespucci following the Ojeda and Coelho voyages. The map is remarkable in that it depicts a closed Gulf and the Mississippi delta before the discoveries of Ponce and Pineda.
WHERE DID THEY LAND?
Early maps disclose that seamen of the late 15th century were more knowledgeable about geography than we once thought. Newly discovered lands were probed quickly — though knowledge gained was not always made public with the same haste.
We are reasonably sure, as noted, that Europeans landed secretly on the shores of Florida a decade before Ponce de Leon made his sanctioned visit in 1513. This mystery, however, we must leave to another time.
Our task is to trace the footprints of the first adelantados who opened North America to civilization.
After two decades of discovery and confusion, Spanish sovereigns were ready to exploit the northern continent not yet nailed down by anyone.
- Juan Ponce de Leon began pacification.
- Panfilo de Narvaez blazed the trail.
- Hernando de Soto advanced the enterprise.
A few comrades who survived each expedition wrote brief accounts of their experiences. Yet, the places of landing and their routes are unknown.
Sοtο's landing, particularly, has been the subject of dispute. His contribution to U.S. history is significant in that he trekked A thousand miles of wilderness, weakened Indian resistance, and opened the door to European culture. His line of march, therefore, has the same degree of interest that we attach to the first step on Plymouth Rock and to the first step on the Moon.
The scanty narratives which have been preserved provide tantalizing clues to the principal historical mysteries of our nation. Conclusive facts are missing, however, so we must rely on analysis of internal evidence in attempting a solution.
Many ingenious theories have been advanced. One of them may be correct — but which one? Nobody yet has made a convincing case, nor searched in the right places for confirmation.
A towering edifice of conjecture has been built on a half dozen narratives and some contradictory maps. The more one studies the mass of secondary material, the more entwined the solution becomes. The mysteries are unsolved and await the insight, perhaps, of an armchair detective.
In this book we will start afresh with clues presented in the original narratives. To these we will add some new information gleaned from con-temporary Spanish documents and early charts. A few deductions from recognized authorities will suggest possible conclusions for your own analysis.
We will examine first the lesser mysteries of the Ponce and Narvaez expeditions. Their solutions would affect the greater mystery of Sοtο's landing place. Each explorer was familiar with the experiences of those who preceded him.
To know as much as we can of what each adelantado knew is to more easily recognize true facts buried in casual observations made more than four centuries ago.
So, gather your wits; and let us begin.
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