Vasco Núñez de Balboa was a renowned explorer , ruler and an acclaimed conqueror from Spain . Navigator of the seas who discovered the Pacific Ocean . After learning that the lands that Christopher Columbus had discovered were not the Indies , many explorers and conquerors tried to create and find a way to move to the New World in an effort to find all the treasures that those places could store. One of the first to travel the Isthmus of Panama was Vasco Núñez de Balboa, who originally called the Pacific Ocean asSouth Sea . Great fighter who established great fights against the different Spanish conquerors to try to possess the American lands and wealth. He was a renowned merchant who paid taxes for his travels to the king and who worked as an agent for the Crown, winning all the lands he found in his path.
Personal information
- When was he born: In 1475 in Jerez de los Caballeros
- When he died: January 15, 1519 in Acla
- Nationality: Spanish
Who was Vasco Núñez de Balboa?
Acclaimed and well-known Spanish explorer , ruler and conqueror who was in charge of navigating the seas and discovering the Pacific Ocean in this way , he traveled the Isthmus of Panama for the first time and established different struggles for power and land to win the treasures that America hid. .
- Biography of Vasco Núñez de Balboa
- Vasco Núñez de Balboa’s Travels
- What did Vasco Núñez de Balboa discover?
- What city did Vasco Núñez de Balboa founded?
Biography of Vasco Núñez de Balboa
Vasco Núñez de Balboa was born in a city called Jerez de los Caballeros or better known as Badajoz . His father known as Nuño Arias de Balboa and of his mother there is no certain knowledge. In the same way, there are not many details about his childhood, only that he had a younger brother than him. He worked as a page and as a squire for Pedro de Portocarrero . He lived in the Castle of Moguer for a time, while the preparations for the voyages of discovery were underway.
Vasco Núñez de Balboa’s Travels
In the year 1500 , he decided to go on a trip with Rodrigo de Bastidas to the Caribbean Sea , on the second voyage with Columbus, who left Puerto de Cádiz in two different ships. He was listed as the best ship pilot of this time. On this trip he decided to stay on the island of Hispaniola , a place where he was granted lands near Salvatierra de la Sabana . In this place he dedicated himself to raising some animals and earned a lot of debts so that in the first moment he could he left the island.
In the year 1509, Vasco Núñez de Balboa decided to go on a trip as a stowaway , it is said, he was hidden in a barrel full of flour, and chose the expedition commanded by Martín Fernández de Enciso to go on a trip. He was discovered during the trip and threatened to leave him on a desert island, but seeing his abilities and skills, they decided to take him with them, since he had previously traveled the region. After several struggles, he managed to reach an agreement to found a camp and found the city of Santa María de la Antigua Del Darién., a place that was recognized as the first capital of the American continent. The triumph of this battle and the founding of the city gave him authority and taking advantage of the situation, he dismissed Fernández de Enciso from the position of ruler, then obtained the position of governor.
In the midst of the conquests of new lands, the existence of an immense sea and more lands where gold predominated came to his ears, for which he organized an expedition on September 25, 1513 , at which time he discovered the South Sea , which would later be called the Pacific Ocean .
What did Vasco Núñez de Balboa discover?
At the end of 1512 and the beginning of the year 1513 , Vasco Núñez de Balboa managed to arrive in a region which was dominated by the cacique Careta who he dominated with great ease and later became his friend, who gave him one of his daughters, in that place was baptized and an alliance was made with Núñez de Balboa , ensuring the subsistence of the colony, since the chief promised to help the Spanish with food. Núñez de Balboa continued his conquest reaching the lands of Careta’s neighbor and rival .
He also founded San Sebastián de Uraba and Santa María de la Antigua del Dairén , which was the first city founded within the American continent.
On September 29 he managed to reach the seashore, with the Virgin’s banner in his hand, and took possession of the ocean in the name of the kings Fernando El Catolico , the King of Aragon and his daughter Juana, the madwoman of Castile. .
What city did Vasco Núñez de Balboa founded?
One of the cities that Vasco Núñez de Balboa first founded was the colony of Santa María de la Antigua del Darién , he was elected mayor, sending emissaries for Nicuesa to appoint him governor of Antigua.
He founded the Gulf of San Miguel on September 29 along with the South Sea, this fact is considered one of the most important events of the conquest of America .