Hernando de Soto was a Spanish explorer born around 1500 in Extremadura, Spain. As a teenager, he joined expeditions to enslave indigenous people and search for wealth in the West Indies. He later joined Francisco Pizarro's expedition to conquer the Inca Empire in Peru. In 1539, de Soto led an expedition of over 1000 men to explore Florida and the Mississippi River valley, becoming the first European to discover the Mississippi River in 1541 before dying along its banks.