This edition of the chronicles written about Mene?ndez de Avile?s, his explorations, settlement and governorship of La Florida is the first annotated publication of the expeditions' chronicles available to an English audience. These documents offer both primary source data as well as contextual information concerning Spanish colonial history and culture. Many of the documents underscore differences between the conquest of La Florida and of Mexico and Peru while stressing imperial power struggles and the important role of fashioning the image of a conquistador.