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...with wealth gathered from plunder in the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire having governed Lima; He was admitted into the prestigious Order of Santiago and "granted the right to conquer Florida". His share was awarded to him by the King of Spain, and he received 724 marks of gold, 17,740 pesos On May 8, 1541, CONQUISTADOR, HERNANDO DESOTO's expedition reaches the Mississippi River and crosses it in search of more gold.... the first Europeans to see and cross the mighty Mississippi River. De Soto died of a fever on May 21, 1542, in the native village of Guachoya (historical sources disagree as to whether de Soto died near present-day McArthur, Arkansas, or in Louisiana) on the western bank of the Mississippi. Louisiana erected a historical marker at the estimated site. According to one source, de Soto's men hid his corpse in blankets weighted with sand and sank it in the middle of the Mississippi River during the night. A rich man by any standard, he should have stayed in Spain. It is important to note the unfortunate negative impact made by the Spanish explorer. The indigenous peoples encountered by de Soto and his men were exposed to European diseases such as measles, smallpox and chickenpox, for which they had no immunity, causing massive loss of life amongst the Native Americans. Mass murder -biological warfare- in pursuit of stolen riches if you will. Nevertheless, de Soto’s records and maps not only greatly added to Europe’s knowledge of the New World but also provided information on the practices and culture of Native Americans prior to the arrival of Europeans. https://exploration.marinersmuseum.org/subject/hernando-de-soto/