The single primary source about DeSoto's expedition was written by Hernández de Biedma. Another account, usually described as that of DeSoto's aide Rodrigo Ranjel, survives only partially in a summary history written by Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés. That secondary source had a strong influence on the formation of the text generally known as the Relaçam of the "Gentleman of Elvas" and, in turn, on the writing of Garcilaso de la Vega's Florida del Inca. (see review of The Hernando de Soto Expedition:History, Historiography, and Discovery in the Southeast in Journal of Interdisciplinary History 30.3, Winter 1999, webpage: SIU-GArchived 2009-03-17 at the Wayback Machine).
The single primary source about DeSoto's expedition was written by Hernández de Biedma. Another account, usually described as that of DeSoto's aide Rodrigo Ranjel, survives only partially in a summary history written by Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés. That secondary source had a strong influence on the formation of the text generally known as the Relaçam of the "Gentleman of Elvas" and, in turn, on the writing of Garcilaso de la Vega's Florida del Inca. (see review of The Hernando de Soto Expedition:History, Historiography, and Discovery in the Southeast in Journal of Interdisciplinary History 30.3, Winter 1999, webpage: SIU-GArchived 2009-03-17 at the Wayback Machine).
