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Vasco Nunez de Balboa sailed with Rodrigo de Bastidas from Spain to Colombia, South America. Searching for treasures along the way. Were forced to leave their sinking ship in Hispanola.
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Vasco Nunez de Balboa was the first European explorer to see the east Pacific ocean.
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Francisco Fernandez de Cordoba sailed from Cuba to the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico with 3 ships and 110 soldiers, he was the first European to travel to this area, and the first to see the Mayan people.
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Alonso Alvarez De Pineda was the first to explore Florida through Texas and claiming the land for Spain.
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Hernan Cortez sailed with 11 ships from Cuba to the Yucatan Penisula to look for gold and silver and other treasures.Cortes traveled inland and "discovered" Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec empire. He then brutally killed the Aztec emperor Montezuma and conquered his Aztec Empire of Mexico, claiming all of Mexico for Spain in 1521.
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Francisco Pizarro enlisted de Soto for an expedition to Peru. During this expedition they met and killed Atahualpa, the ruler of the Incas, and conquered the Inca empire.
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Francisco Pizarro "discovered" the Incan Empire and conquered it quickly killing and enslaving most of the Incans
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Hernando De Soto got rights to explore Florida while conquering it. He arrived on the west coast of Florida on May 30, 1539 with 10 ships carrying over 600 soldiers, priests, and explorers. They spent four years searching for gold and silver, exploring the area, and brutally contacting native societies, including the Cherokees, Seminoles, Creeks, Appalachians, and Choctaws.
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Alvar Nunez Cabeza De Vaca Explored the Paraguay river and was the first European to see the Iguacu falls.
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Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo was the first to explore the Californian Coast, Claiming it for King Charles I