Vasco Nunez: A Man Who Did Not Quite Succeed

There are numerous of influential individuals that are important to reshaping the America that we live in today.  From Christopher Columbus, to Hernan Cortes, those are just some of the few that contributed to the shaping of America. One individual that may not be as well-known but is tremendously important is Vasco Nunez, who may be known as Vasco Nunez De Balboa.

Vasco Nunez was not only an Explorer but he was also a conquistador who helped define the well-known Panama today. He was born around 1475 in Spain. There was once a time when many people in Spain were seeking their fortunes in the New World, and everyone was searching anything that they could get their hands that would increase the riches and wealth. These people were obsessed, as some would think of it as. Nunez was one of the first that joined an expedition to South America. After exploring the coast of present-day Colombia, Nunez stayed on the island of Hispaniola. Today, we all know that as Haiti and the Dominican Republic, according to the map we did for homework, where we had to label regions. But while there, he got into debt and fled, hiding away on a ship headed for the fledgling colony of San Sebastian. Compared to Columbus, Vasco Nunez did not have anyone as generous as King Isabella and King Ferdinand to sponsor his trip with many, or anything that he needed. Eventually, he figured a way out of the problems he was facing.

Once he arrived at the settlement, Nunez discovered that most of the colonists had been killed by nearby native peoples. He then convinced the remaining colonists to move to the western side of the Gulf of Uraba. With not much to lead himself upon, they established the town of Darién on the Isthmus of Panama, which is a small strip land that connects Central America and South America. Today, that land is known as simply Panama, and nothing complicated as the Isthmus of Panama.

Around 1513, Nunez led an expedition from Darién to search the south for gold. Once again, he became one of those influential explorers that had another obsession for Gold, and his own share of it. He hoped that if he was successful he would win the favor of Ferdinand, the king of Spain, even though the Queen and King were not even close to sponsoring his trip. Unfortunately, he did not find any Gold. Although he did not find any Gold, he claimed Pacific Ocean and all of its shores for Spain.

The word quickly spread  that Nunez did not find the "so-called" Gold. That made his weakness of being a failure,highlighted. Immediately as the news followed, the king had sent Pedro Arias de Ávila to serve as the new governor of Darién. The new governor was reportedly jealous of Balboa and ordered him to be arrest on charges of treason.He shouldn't of been jealous because after all he did take the position of Nunez, which was to lead an expedition. Additionally, he was also perceived as a failure because he did not find any Gold, and everyone was obsessed about Gold. After a brief trial, Balboa unfortunately died in 1519.