Spanish Explorers

Vasco Nunez de Balboa was born in Spain

Feb 4, 1475

Ponce De Leon voyages with Christopher Columbus

Feb 4, 1493

Ponce De Leon accompanies Christopher Columbus on his second voyage to the Americas

Ponce De Leon becomes governor of Hispaniola

Feb 4, 1500

Cortés travels to Santo Domingo

Feb 4, 1504

Cortés travels to Santo Domingo and settles in Azùa and serves as a notary.

Ponce De Leon voyages to Puerto Rico

Feb 4, 1509

Set off on a voyage to search for gold on a nearby island known as Puerto Rico today.

Cortés goes on an expedition to Cuba

Feb 4, 1511

Cortés joins Diego Velàzques to go to Cuba, works in the civil government, serves as mayor of Santiago.

Ponce De Leon goes to Florida

Feb 4, 1513

The rumor of the Fountain of Youth caught the interest of Ponce, and he set off on an exploration to the coast of modern day Florida, where he believed it to reside.

Pizarro crosses Isthmus of Panama

Feb 4, 1513

Pizarro accompanied Vasco Núñez de Balboa in his crossing of the Isthmus of Panama to the Pacific coast

Vasco Nunez de Balboa landed in Columbia

Feb 4, 1514

left to find land in new world to find riches, landed in columbia

Ponce De Leon is hired by Spanish Crown

Feb 4, 1515

The Spanish Crown hires Ponce to go and take 50 soldiers, and stop a native uprising in Cuba.

Cortés sets sail to Mexico

Feb 4, 1518

Cortés commands his own expedition to Mexico, and although it was cancelled, and goes with 500 men and 11 ships. He goes to the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlán, and is treated well because he fulfilled a prophesy.

Nunez de Balboa is beheaded

Feb 4, 1519

founded new town and became governor, then left after a while. only to come back to kill his step-in governor, then got beheaded in 1519

Magellan sets sail

Aug 10, 1519

Magellan sets sail with 270 men and five ships searching for a fabled water passage that would allow them to cross South America without going around Cape Horn

Cortés is driven out of Tenochtitlán

Feb 4, 1520

He leaves the city after fighting of Velazques, and the Aztec leader Montezuma is killed during an Aztec revolt.

Magellan discovers Strait of Magellan

Oct 21, 1520

Magellan and his crew discover the Strait of Magellan, which is a curvy, narrow channel that separates Tierra del Fuego at the tip of SA from the continental mainland. It ended up being dangerous, since it was hard to navigate, freezing cold, and foggy.

Ponce De Leon starts colony in Milimi

Feb 4, 1521

Ponce sailed back to Bilimi (coast of Florida), and started a colony there
In late July, he was killed by Native Americans

Cortés builds Mexico City

Feb 4, 1521

He builts Mexico City, which became the center of Spanish America. He secured control and was cruel to the indigenous populations. Western diseases spread wildly and weakened Native American forces.

Magellan is killed

Apr 27, 1521

Magellan is killed after leading an attack against the Mactan people (who refused to convert to Christianity). He mistakenly thought his superior European weapons would lead to an easy victory but the Mactan people fought harder than anticipated and ended up shooting Magellan with a poisoned arrow.

Magellan's crew returns to Spain

Sep 4, 1522

They return to Spain. Only 1 of the original 5 ships returns, and only 18 of the original 270 men are alive.

de Soto's expedition takes him to Nicaragua

Feb 4, 1524

de Soto’s expedition in 1524 took him to Nicaragua, South America and de Cordoba, where they both took part in the lucrative slave trade.

Pizarro partners with priest and soldier

Feb 4, 1524

While still in Panama, Pizarro formed a partnership with a priest, Hernando de Luque, and a soldier, Diego de Almagro, to explore and conquer the South

Pizarro's first expeditions leaves Panama

Feb 4, 1526

The first of three expeditions left from Panama for the conquest of Peru with about 80 men and 40 horses

Pizarro leaves Panama

Feb 4, 1526

Pizarro left Panama with two ships with 160 men and several horses, reaching as far as the Colombian San Juan River

Cortés is forced to return to Spain

Feb 4, 1528

Fears arose that Cortés was becoming too powerful, and the Spanish king limits his power and monitors his activities.

Pizarro lands near Ecuador

Feb 4, 1531

Conquest of Peru - Pizarro once again landed in the coasts near Ecuador

de Soto's expedition captures Atauallpa

Nov 15, 1532

On November 15, 1532, the expedition reach Camajarca and captured Atauallpa, the emperor of Inca people. Thousands were killed and the great treasure of Inca was stolen.

Coronado traveled to New Spain

Feb 4, 1535

Coronado traveled to New Spain ( Mexico) he went with Antonio de Mendoza, where the Spanish viceroy, whom with father's service as royal administrator in Granada.

Coronado gained Mendoza’s approval

Feb 4, 1537

Coronado gained Mendoza’s approval by putting down rebellions of black slaves & Indians working in the mines. After that year he became governor of the province of Nueva Galicia , region much of what has become the Mexican states Jalisco, Nayarit and

de Soto explores Florida

Feb 4, 1538

Coronado traveled to Seven Golden Cities of Cíbola

Feb 4, 1540

Traveled with Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca to what is called Seven Golden Cities of Cíbola with 300 Spaniards and more than 1,000 Indians came along.

Coronado spent the winter on Rio Grande

Feb 4, 1540

Coronado spent the winter on Rio Grande at Kuana, where they fought several Indians and in spring of 1541 moved into Palo Duro Canyon, which has store of riches at Quivira which is now Kansas but were disappointed when all they found was another Indian village.

Cortés settles back is Spain

Feb 4, 1541

He returns to Spain as a bitter man and lives there until his death six years later.

Coronado returns to Mexico

Feb 4, 1542

He had return to Mexico and resumed post in Nueva Galicia with his wealth and position was far from tenuous. Mendoza had called his travel a failure and had a investigation. 1544 he spent his last decade of his life as member of the City council of Mexico City.

de Soto dies

May 20, 1542

On May 21, 1542, Hernando de Soto contracted a fever and died on the same day.