3 comments about Conquest: Hernando De Soto and the Indians 1539-1543.

1. In 1539 Hernando de Soto invaded North America, looking for new civilizations to conquer. Instead, the trackless wilderness and the people of what would later be known as the southern United States conquered him.

   William Sanders is best known for his award winning alternate histories, but with CONQUEST he has turned his meticulous research and engaging narrative style to straight history. The result is a work detailed enough to satisfy the fussiest historian, but with enough of the storyteller's art to keep the average reader turning pages. Sanders approaches de Soto's invasion as a story to be told, not dry facts to be laid out, and he succeeds admirably, even managing to turn up something of an amusing surprise twist at the end.

   At 213 pages, not counting endnotes and appendices, CONQUEST is no ponderous historical tome. The narrative moves along briskly, sketching in just enough background for the reader to understand what the conquistadores were like, and the world they lived in, then on to the expedition itself. The Spaniards' meandering route across the American South, and the Indians they enslaved and robbed -- and eventually fled from -- are described in as much detail as has come down to us over the centuries, and with as much humor as can be found in an essentially tragic tale.

   CONQUEST is a worthwhile read for the history buff or anyone interested in a fascinating story of failed ambition.




2. Conquest: Hernando De Soto And The Indians 1539-1543 is an absorbing account of the first major European invasion of the North American mainland. It is not intended as a scholarly dissertation, but rather a general introduction for the lay reader to these fascinating events. Documentation and evidence of what truly happened remains maddeningly incomplete to this day, yet Conquest assembles all it can from primary and secondary sources to present a plausible picture of an army of six hundred that lost nearly half its men during a four-year trek through inhospitable wilderness. A thorough, sometimes harsh or even grisly account, compelling in its raw rendition of history.



3. Rarely do we get history from more than one point of view. Here, William Sanders (Cherokee) chronicles the journey of Hernando de Soto from "Florida" (as the Spanish denominated all of the north American continent they knew about) to the Mississippi River,and the continuation of the remnants of his command to their rescue in what we now call Texas. Sanders examines the mindset of the Spanish, explaining how they justified their behavior to the natives they encountered--the first such explanation I have seen that really sets the context for cruelty--and also relates some of the natives' belief systems that interpret their reactions to the Spaniards.
   In particular, Sanders interprets the natives' reactions to the horse, which usually comes out as "wow, they were simply baffled by an animal they had never seen before" in a thoroughly believable way. These people had encountered many large and interesting animals in their lives, and seeing one more would not surprise them. Having an animal apparently allowing a human to sit on his back--and then, who was managing which?--was indeed not only surprising but a violation of their world view. Another item largely overlooked in history is the introduction of the pig to the Americas, quite as important as the horse (along with all the infectious diseases that the pig transmits, though this is not a major part of Sanders' tale).
   This work of history, with its careful research, its novelistic descriptions, and its fascinating insights (garnered in part through Sanders' connections with oral history) makes the book must-read for anyone who cares about the early days of our culture.

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