Vasco Núñez de Balboa
~1475–1519 · Spanish (Extremadura) · Age of Discovery
Known for: First European to see the Pacific Ocean from the Americas—waded into it in full armor and claimed it all for Spain
Balboa was a stowaway who became the most successful early colonist in the Americas. He founded the first permanent European settlement on the mainland and, guided by indigenous information, crossed the Isthmus of Panama with a small force.
On September 25, 1513, he climbed a peak and became the first European to see the Pacific from the New World. He waded into the ocean in full armor and claimed it and all adjoining lands for Spain. He was later executed for treason by his rival Pedrarias Dávila—the man who owed him everything.
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