Early Voyages.

The completion of the conquest of Mexico by Hernando Cortes spurred Spanish conquistadors to look elsewhere in the Americas for sources of wealth. Some were already exploring the Pacific coast of South America and would soon add the Incan Empire to Spain's dominions in the New World. For others North America seemed to hold more promise. During the late 1510s Spanish explorers mapped much of the eastern and southern coastline of the continent. In 1513 Juan Ponce de Leon scanned most of the eastern and southern coasts of Florida, and Alvarez de Pineda completed a survey of the Gulf Coast six years later. During the early 1520s the continent's outlines became even clearer as Estevao Gomes sailed along the Newfoundland and New England coast beyond Cape Cod (1524-1525), and Pedro de Quejo mapped the southeastern coastline as far north...