Careta
| Vasco Núñez de Balboa | |
|---|---|
_-_An%C3%B3nimo.jpg) |
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| Born | c. 1475 Jerez de los Caballeros, Badajoz, Crown of Castile |
| Died | January 1519 (aged c. 43–44) Acla, Panama |
| Nationality | Castilian |
| Occupation | Maritime explorer for the Crown of Castile |
| Spouse(s) | María de Peñalosa |
Vasco Núñez de Balboa (c. 1475 – around January 12–21, 1519) was a Spanish explorer, governor, and conquistador. He is best known for having crossed the Isthmus of Panama to the Pacific Ocean in 1513, becoming the first European to lead an expedition to have seen or reached the Pacific from the New World.
He traveled to the New World in 1500 and, after some exploration, settled on the island of Hispaniola. He founded the settlement of Santa María la Antigua del Darién in present-day Panama in 1510, which was the first permanent European settlement on the mainland of the Americas (a settlement by Alonso de Ojeda the previous year at San Sebastián de Urabá had already been abandoned).
Balboa was born in Jerez de los Caballeros, Spain. He was a descendant of the Lord mason of the castle of Balboa, which is located in northwestern Spain. His mother was the Lady de Badajoz, and his father was the hidalgo (nobleman), Nuño Arias de Balboa. Little is known of Vasco's early childhood except that he was the third of four boys in his family. During his adolescence, he served as a page and squire to Don Pedro de Portocarrero, lord of Moguer.
In 1500, motivated by his master after the news of Christopher Columbus's voyages to the New World became known, he decided to embark on his first voyage to the Americas, along with Juan de la Cosa, on Rodrigo de Bastidas' expedition. Bastidas had a license to bring back treasure for the king and queen, while keeping four-fifths for himself, under a policy known as the quinto real, or "royal fifth". In 1501, he crossed the Caribbean coasts from the east of Panama, along the Colombian coast, through the Gulf of Urabá toward Cabo de la Vela. The expedition continued to explore the north east of South America, until they realized they did not have enough men and sailed to Hispaniola.
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