Vasco Núñez de Balboa Biography
(Spanish Explorer)
Born: 1475
Born In: Jerez de los Caballeros, Spain
Spanish explorer Vasco Nunez de Balboa was one of the most important and influential explorers in the 16th century who became a governor under the King of Spain and was also a conquistador who went on to discover new lands that had remained unexplored in spite of the numerous voyages that had been conducted before his time. Balboa was greatly inspired by Christopher Columbus, who had discovered the ‘New World’ and decided to become an explorer. Balboa initially settled down in Hispaniola after embarking on a voyage to the Americas and during his life time he never returned to his native Spain as he stayed back in his new habitat in order to search for the legendary riches that could be found in the unexplored parts of the continent. Vasco Nunez de Balboa went on to discover new lands and was appointed governor of different regions in the Americas. One of his biggest achievements was that of crossing over the southern part of the continent by crossing the present day Isthmus of Panama. He became the first European to cross over and last but not the least it is also important to point out that Vasco Nunez de Balboa was the first person to introduce Europeans to the Pacific Ocean.