BLOODLUST A 16th-century engraving depicts the Spaniard’s torture of Native Americans in Florida
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“Christians, weary and very thirsty, went to drink at a pond nearby, tinged with the blood of the killed.” Contemporary chronicler Elvas on the Battle of Mabila
Hernando de Soto proved he was worth considerably more than his own weight in gold during Spain’s treasure-frenzied, empire-toppling conquests of South and Central America.