Marquette and Joliet

European contact resumes with the Chickasaws

The French were the first Europeans to resume contact with the Chickasaws after de Soto.

Continued European Expansion in the Americas

The Age of Exploration continues to affect the Chickasaw way of life

Spain, France and England each competed for their stake in the new world.

Hernando de Soto

The Spanish explorer encounters the Chickasaw Nation, who reasserts its strength and military might

In December 1540, Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto led an army of men across the Chikashsha, or modern-day Tombigbee River.