There next came upon the scene a far more formidable personage than any of these, or indeed than any who had visited Cuba since Columbus with the exception of Cortez. This was none other than Hernando de Soto. Like many another famous Spanish conquistador, he was an impoverished nobleman of Estremadura, who had been in youth a protégé of the infamous Pedrarias d'Avila, the constructive murderer of Balboa and the scourge of Darien. Through the bounty of d'Avila he had passed through a university; he had gone to Darien with his patron in 1519; and in 1532 he had gone with reenforcements to Pizarro in Peru. There he played a great part, personally seizing the Inca monarch, Atahualpa, and discovering the mountain pass which led to the treasure city of Cuzco. Incidentally he seized for himself a vast fortune, with which he returned to Spain, where he married the daughter of d'Avila and for a time settled down in splendid state.
When, however, Cabeza de Vaca, one of the four survivors of the last expedition of Narvaez, reached Spain with stories of the marvellous wealth of Florida, de Soto's adventurous spirit, or his cupidity, was again aroused. He disposed of part of his estates, purchased and armed four ships, recruited a force of 620 foot soldiers and 120 horsemen, and sought from the King a commission to explore, conquer and colonize Florida. In him the King apparently saw, as he imagined, the solution of the problem, what to do about Cuba. He accordingly joined Florida and Cuba together, politically, making de Soto Adelantado of the former and governor of the latter. With this commission de Soto sailed from Spain in April, 1538, bound first for Cuba and thence for Florida. The expedition called for a time at the Canary Islands, where its members were richly entertained by the Governor of Gomera. There De Soto's wife, the Lady Isabel, engaged the beautiful daughter of the Governor to accompany her as her chief lady-in-waiting, a choice which led to some interesting personal complications, actually affecting the progress of the expedition.
It was on June 7, 1538, that De Soto arrived at Santiago with probably the most imposing fleet that had ever yet visited that port or the waters of Cuba. It comprised more than a score of vessels, carrying more than a thousand soldiers. This armada comprised the galleons _San Cristobal_, _Buena Fortuna_, _Magdalena_, _Conception_, _San Juan_, _San Antonio_, and _Santa Barbara_; one caravel (a three-masted vessel), two light brigs (two masted), and about a dozen smaller craft. Juan de Anasco was chief pilot of the expedition, and the captains were Nuñez Tobar, Luis Morosco de Alvarado, Andres de Vasconcelas, Arias Tinoco, Alfonso Robo de Cardenosa, Diego Garcia, and Pedro Calderon. Among the commanders of the troops were Carlos Enriques, Micer de Espinola, Dionisio de Paris, Rodrigo Gallego, Francisco del Poso, and Diego Banuelos. Nor was the propagation of the True Faith neglected. It was entrusted to a mission comprising four priests and a number of Dominican friars, under the leadership of the friar Luis de Soto, a cousin of the generalissimo of the expedition. Santiago was naturally selected for the entry to Cuba seeing that it was still the official capital and that De Soto was already commissioned Governor. There was a narrow escape from shipwreck in entering the narrow and somewhat tortuous mouth of the great harbor, after which the Governor was received by the municipal functionaries with all the pomp and dignity of which the capital was capable. Tidings of the coming of the new Governor had spread throughout the Island and people of consequence from all parts had flocked to Santiago to welcome him, to seek to ingratiate themselves with him and to celebrate what they fondly hoped would prove to be the beginning of a new and splendid era in the history of Cuba. It is recorded that the gentlemen of the town sent down to the boat landing a fine roan horse for De Soto to ride and a richly caparisoned mule for Doña Isabel. He and all his company were lodged in the most luxurious quarters the town could afford and were hospitably entertained without cost to themselves. Santiago had at this time about eighty houses which were described as spacious and well appointed. About half of them were of masonry and tile and the remainder of boards and thatch. There were also many attractive country estates surrounding the city.