Vasco Nunez de Balboa
Spanish, single, ready to mingle
Vasco Nunez de Balboa
Born in 1475 in Jerez de los Caballeros, in the province of Extremadura in Castile, Spain, Vasco Núñez de Balboa grew up to be the first European to see the Pacific Ocean. Balboa decided to seek his fortune in the New World. Around 1500, he joined a Spanish expedition that explored the coast of present-day Colombia, returning to the island of Hispaniola and to live the remainder of his life as a farmer. After falling into debt, he stowed away on an ship carrying supplies to the colony of San Sebastian, located on the coast of Urabá, in 1510. In 1513, he led the first European expedition to the Pacific Ocean, but, unbeknownst to Balboa, King Ferdinand II had appointed the elderly nobleman Pedro Arias Dávila, usually called Pedrarias, as the new governor of Darién. Eventually, as reward for his explorations, Balboa was named governor, but remained under the authority of Pedrarias, who arrived in Darién mid-1514. Pedrarias, stricken with paranoia from wandering rumors that Balboa would speak against him, and fearing his influence and popularity, Pedrarias requested that the explorer return home and had him arrested and tried for rebellion and high treason, among other charges. In the highly biased trial that ensued, watched over by Pedrarias’ ally Gaspar de Espinosa, Balboa was found guilty and condemned to death. He was beheaded, along with four alleged accomplices, in 1519.
Journal Entry
Today, i saw the most wondrous sight. I climbed the mountain and stretched out in front of me was a plain of beautiful, rolling waves. The sun reflected off of the water, giving it a beautiful blue-green hue. I can safely say that nothing will ever amount to that sight. Although it's been many years, my heart stills yearns to return to Spain. Maybe i will sail back in a years time. For now, i will watch the waves crash onto the shore and