Vasco Núñez de Balboa

Vasco Núñez de Balboa (c. 1475 – around January 12–21, 1519) was a Spanish explorer, governor, conquistador, and adelantado. He is most famous for becoming the first European to spot the Pacific Ocean, which he did while crossing the Isthmus of Panama in 1513. He also established Santa María la Antigua del Darién in what is now Colombia in 1510, marking the first permanent European settlement on the American mainland. Born in Jerez de los Caballeros, Spain, Balboa was one of several children, though the exact number and birth order are not confirmed by historical records.

Early life

His father was the nobleman Nuño Arias de Balboa, and his mother was María de Badajoz. As a youth, he served as a page and squire to Don Pedro de Portocarrero, lord of Moguer. In 1501, spurred by news of Columbus’s voyages, Balboa joined Rodrigo de Bastidas’s expedition alongside Juan de la Cosa. Under the quinto real policy, the Crown took one-fifth of any treasure, while the remaining four-fifths were subject to other shares and costs.

Early career

The expedition sailed along the Caribbean coast from eastern Panama, past the Colombian shore and the Gulf of Urabá, to Cabo de la Vela. After exploring northeastern South America, the expedition ended because their ships were damaged and leaking, forcing them to head to Hispaniola. Balboa settled in Hispaniola in 1505, working as a planter and pig farmer, but he failed at this and fell into debt, forcing him to leave the island. In 1508, King Ferdinand II of Spain ordered the conquest of Tierra Firme, roughly the Isthmus of Panama.

He split the region between Cabo de la Vela and Cabo de Gracias a Dios into two territories: Nueva Andalucía (east, under Alonso de Ojeda) and Veragua (west, under Diego de Nicuesa), with the Gulf of Urabá as the border. In 1509, hoping to flee his creditors in Santo Domingo, Balboa joined an expedition led by Martín Fernández de Enciso, the Alcalde Mayor of Nueva Andalucía, who was sent to aid Ojeda. Ojeda had founded San Sebastián de Urabá with 70 men, but local natives using poisoned weapons wounded him. Ojeda sailed for Hispaniola, leaving Francisco Pizarro in charge, with orders to wait 50 days for help; if none came, the men were to return to Hispaniola.