Vasco Nunez de Balboa

Vasco Nunez de Balboa arrived in the New World by 1500 and participated in conquering expeditions and the founding of Spanish settlements in the peninsular regions connecting South America and Central America, specifically Panama and Darien. He is widely remembered for being among the first (if not the first) Europeans to find the Pacific Ocean and claim it on behalf of his monarchs.

Under Balboa's leadership, the settlement at Darien was more secure and prosperous than others, and even absorbed the haggard survivors of two failed outposts, which, according to Balboa, had been mismanaged by their leaders, Diego de Nicuesa (Niquesa in the following text) and Alonso de Ojeda. For officials such as Balboa, conquering natives and securing adequate provisions also required outmaneuvering fellow Spaniards in the colonies, as each attempted to increase his own local power while gaining...