The De Soto Chronicles Vol 1 & 2: The Expedition of Hernando de Soto to North America in 1539-1543

Glossary

adarme: approximately 179 centigrams. adelantado: authorized to settle a new territory. Literally, "one who pushes forward." A military concept carried over from the Middle Ages. Recruits his own army and bears all costs of the expedition. Distributes land to loyal followers. Reserves an hereditary holding for his own family. Full military and civil authority. Responsible for the internal and external peace of the territory. Represents the king in his own person. AGI [Also AI]: Archivo General de Indias in Seville. The chief depository in Spain of materials about the Spanish experiences in the New World. alcalde: mayor; head of a town council. almirante: second in command of a fleet. Sailed in the ship designated as almiranta, which guarded the rear of a convoy. almud: an ancient land and grain measure; 0.8 bushels alquiere: a measure of volume. Either a dry measure of 138 deciliters, or a liquid measure of 84 deciliters. apu: a term like curaca, borrowed by Garcilaso de la Vega from Inca usage in Peru. In the present context, the noble office of war chief, subject to a principal chief. arquebus [also harquebus]: "The earliest and mechanically the crudest of the hand-held firearms. It was fired by touching a piece of lighted matchcord, like a slow-burning fuse, to the powder hole.... A ball or shot fired from a harquebus had much greater velocity than an arrow or a crossbow bolt, but it was slow to load, not very accurate , and problematic in rainy weather. Because the matchcord had to be kept alight when action might occur, great quantities of it were required" (Charles Hudson, in The Juan Pardo Expeditions, Washington , D.C., Smithsonian Institution Press, 1990; 147-48). arroba: either a measure of capacity, about 4 gallons, or a weight of about 25 pounds. audiencia: the highest regional appeals court; a hearing at such a court. barbacoa: a raised framework for smoking meat or fish [source of the modern word barbecue]; also the name of a wooden framework used to store corn above ground. beheaded: although the Indians at times did behead their enemies, in Garcilaso , at least, this seems to mean to be scalped; the Spaniards had never seen scalping and had no word for it. braza: a unit of measure; approximately one fathom. cacique: an hereditary lord of vassals. A native term in an Arawak language, borrowed by the Spaniards in the conquest of the Antilles and later applied by them elsewhere in the Americas to various chiefs. corregidor: a magistrate. cow: a buffalo. The Spaniards had never seen a buffalo and had no name for it. crossbow: "Although the crossbow could fire a small missile at high velocity and could be aimed and fired by a person of little skill or strength, an experienced Indian archer could fire an arrow with comparable penetrating power (because of the heavier weight of the arrow), and he could fire several arrows in the time it took a crossbowman to load and fire a single bolt" (Charles Hudson, in The Juan Pardo Expeditions, 147). cruzada: a gold coin minted during the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella, equivalent to seven pesetas. curaca: a district or provincial chief. A native term borrowed from the Quechua language of Peru. It is used interchangeably with cacique by the Inca, Garcilaso de la Vega. encomienda: a grant of Indian tributary labor. estado: a unit of measure equal to about 5 to 6 feet. factor: an agent of the king; usually an accountant; reports to the king on the results of the expedition. fanega: a grain measure equal to about 1.6 bushels. fanega de tierra: a land measure equal to about 1.6 acres. geira: a unit of land, roughly equivalent to the English acre. league: a unit of land or sea measure. At least two versions of the Spanish land league were in use during the sixteenth century; which one is meant in a given context is a matter of dispute. The legua legal was 5,000 varas, equivalent to 2.63 U.S. miles or 4.19 km. The legua comun, or common league, known to have been used as an itinerary measure, was equivalent to 3.45 miles or 5.57 km. 504 _ THE DE SOTO CHRONICLES maestro de campo [also maese de campo]: camp master; chief administrative officer of the expedition. A military rank corresponding to a present-day colonel. New Spain: the name...