Hernando de Soto 1539–1540 Winter Encampment at Anhaica Apalachee
From October 1539 through March 1540, the Spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto and his expedition of more than 600 people occupied the Apalachee capital of Anhaica, located in present-day Tallahassee. Soto had come to conquer and establish a colony in La Florida, which at that time was a vague concept of a territory covering most of the southeastern United States. To accomplish his goals, Soto brought a wide array of people including soldiers, slaves, craftspeople, and bureaucrats. He also brought along a herd of swine that he intended to use for food at a planned colony. A veteran of campaigns in Central and South America, Soto was a ruthless and skilled soldier. As the governor of Cuba and holder of a royal charter to conquer La Florida, he was also one of the richest men in the world at the time. Despite his high hopes, after months of exploring peninsular Florida, Soto had failed to find great sources of wealth, such as gold and silver, like other conquistadors had in Mexico and Peru.
Soto's expedition landed somewhere in Tampa Bay in May of 1539. Two previous expeditions to la Florida had ended poorly for their leaders, Ponce de León and Panfilo de Narvaéz, both of whom died without finding riches or establishing colonies. In peninsular Florida, Soto found little evidence of the types of riches he sought. Soto was lured to the Apalachee territory following reports by their neighbors that the Apalachee were rich and powerful. After crossing the Aucilla River, Soto and his force pushed inland. Having had experience with conquistadors in the past, including Narvaéz's expedition 21 years earlier, the Apalachee abandoned their towns in anticipation of the Spaniards' arrival.
Soto's time at Anhaica was a key turning point in his expedition. While at Anhaica, Soto reconfigured his expedition for a push into the interior. He moved supply lines and gathered intelligence on possible routes. He chose to winter in the area because he used the Apalachee's extensive food stores and buildings to feed and house his expedition. The Spaniards hoped to find riches to the north. Their oftentimes violent excursion into the southeastern United States forever changed the region and had drastic effects on the local inhabitants.
Based on the timing of their occupation of Anhaica, members of Soto's expedition likely celebrated the first Christmas mass in what would become the United States. Although there is no mention of Christmas in the chronicles, the Spanish were devout Catholics, and clergy in the party would probably have held a Christmas mass. At the time, Christmas was a more solemn affair, and it lacked many of the celebrations associated with present-day celebrations. The holiday was one of several feast days celebrated by Catholics. However, because the expedition was under frequent attack by the Apalachee, Soto and his men were likely too busy to participate in many holiday celebrations. During Christmas, Soto sent some of his men out on auxiliary expeditions to establish new supply lines for an eventual push inland. The holiday may be noted in a map associated with the expedition.
The Apalachee territory spanned between the Aucilla to the Apalachicola Rivers, and from southern Georgia down to the Gulf Coast. The ancestors of the Apalachee who Soto encountered had long roots in the area. Five hundred years before meeting Europeans, they had built the mounds at Lake Jackson. Archaeological evidence demonstrates that the Apalachee farmed maize and focused their settlements on high ground around the red hills of Tallahassee. The Apalachee who Soto encountered are part of the archaeological "Fort Walton" culture, a term used by archaeologists to describe patterned similarities in material cultures, especially pottery styles. Accounts in the historical record suggest that the Apalachee were well known and respected by their neighbors. These chronicles describe the Apalachee province as having many towns and plentiful food. Archaeological finds corroborate this descript