Discoveries

Vasco Nunez de Balboa was a Spanish explorer, a governor and a conquistador. He first settled on the island of La Hispaniola. On 1510 he founded the first European settlement in America in what is today known as Panama. He was the first European to see the eastern shore of the Pacific Ocean on September 13, 1513, by crossing the Isthmus of Panama.

Balboa also sailed from Spain to Colombia. They sailed for treasures (pearls and gold).

Early Life

Vasco Nunez de Balboa was born in 1475-January 15th in Jerez de los Caballeros, Spain. This town where he was born is on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean in the south of Spain. His father's name was Nuno Arias de Balboa. His mother's identity is unknown. His dad didn't have very much money and he was not a very important man, so when he was little he had to go to work at the house of a rich man to make money to help his family.

When he was 26 he decided to go on a ship to explore South America. He stopped in Cuba because he was running out of food on the ship. In Cuba he raised white pigs for a while.