Vasco Núñez de Balboa summary

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Vasco Núñez de Balboa, (born 1475, Badajoz, Extremadura province, Castile—died Jan. 12, 1519, Acla, near Darién, Pan.), Spanish conquistador and explorer. In 1500 he explored the coast of modern Colombia, then settled in Hispaniola. Forced to flee creditors, he joined an expedition to assist a colony in Colombia. He persuaded the settlers to move across the Gulf of Urabá to Darién, where in 1511 they founded the first stable settlement on the South American continent. In 1513 he became the first European to see the Pacific Ocean and took possession of the Mar del Sur (South Sea) and adjacent lands for Spain. He became governor of the Mar del Sur and of the provinces of Panamá and Coiba but remained subject to a rival, Pedro Arias Dávila, or Pedrarias (1440?–1531). Fearing Balboa’s influence, Pedrarias had him seized and charged with rebellion, treason, and other misdeeds. After a farcical trial, Balboa was beheaded.

Darién Summary

Darién, geographic region of the easternmost Isthmus of Panama that extends into northwestern Colombia, around the Gulf of Urabá (a section of the Gulf of Darién), and forms the physiographic link between Central and South America. A hot, humid area typified by tropical rainforests, mangrove

government Summary

Government, the political system by which a country or community is administered and regulated. Most of the key words commonly used to describe governments—words such as monarchy, oligarchy, and democracy—are of Greek or Roman origin. They have been current for more than 2,000 years and have not

Western colonialism Summary

Western colonialism, a political-economic phenomenon whereby various European nations explored, conquered, settled, and exploited large areas of the world. The age of modern colonialism began about 1500, following the European discoveries of a sea route around Africa’s southern coast (1488) and of

Spain Summary

Spain, country located in extreme southwestern Europe. It occupies about 85 percent of the Iberian Peninsula, which it shares with its smaller neighbour Portugal. Spain is a storied country of stone castles, snowcapped mountains, vast monuments, and sophisticated cities, all of which have made it a