De Soto, the Child of the Sun

DeSoto dreamed of following in the footsteps of Cortez, and other Spanish explorers under whom he learned, and prospered. They were hugely successful. He assumed he would be too.

But DeSoto’s mission in the America’s ended badly, and it seemed that for months, each new phase, each week, things got worse for the Spaniards than they had been the week, the month, before. 

It is evident that DeSoto was guilty of mistakes along the way, each of which had harmful consequences to his chance of success. Indeed, DeSoto is not an easy character to feel any sympathy for. 

Explain in some detail the more serious errors DeSoto committed as he tried to make his way through Florida and the region, errors that resulted in his failure.