Spanish Explorers

By jwolf20
  • Sep 8, 1499

    Vincente Pinzon

    Vincente sailed to the Brazilian coast. From there, he sailed northwest to the Amazon River, whose mouth he explored. He sailed north to northeastern Venezuela and then returned to Spain.
  • Sep 8, 1511

    Panfilo de Narvaez

    Panfilo helped conquer Cuba in 1511. Panfilo also led a Spanish royal expedition to North America (leaving Spain in 1527).
  • Feb 8, 1517

    Francisco Fernández de Córdoba

    Cordoba was a slave trader who explored Mexico (1517) and Nicaragua (1524). Cordoba had been sent to Mexico by Diego Velazquez, the governor of Cuba, to look for treasures to plunder.
  • Sep 8, 1517

    Bernal Diaz

    Bernal sailed to the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico, with Francisco de Córdoba's. He returned to Mexico in 1518 with Grijalva, and in 1519 with Herando Cortes.
  • Sep 8, 1519

    Alonso Alvarez de Pineda

    De Pineda sailed for the Spanish Governor of Jamaica, Francisco de Garay, who sent him to explore and chart the Gulf Coast from Florida to Mexico in 1519. Captain De Pineda and his crew were probably the first Europeans in Texas, claiming it for Spain.
  • Sep 8, 1522

    Francisco Pizarro

    Francisco traveled through much of the Pacific coast of America along Peru. He "discovered" the Incan empire and conquered it brutally and quickly, stealing immense hoards of gold, silver, and other treasures.
  • Sep 8, 1524

    Hernando De Soto

    Hernando sailed the Atlantic Ocean and was the first European to explore Florida and the southeastern US.
  • Sep 8, 1525

    Andres de Urdaneta

    Andres accompanied Garcia Jofre de Loaysa on the second sailing expedition around the world when he was 17 years old. On this 1525 trip, only one ship of the original seven survived.
  • Oct 18, 1526

    Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón

    Lucas tried to start a colony in North America which succeded. They were originally were looking for land near Pawley's Island but that was unsuccessful.
  • Sep 8, 1527

    Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca

    Was an explorer that sailed to North America to Spain. He left for this voyage in 1527. He traveled using a raft and with that raft he traveled from Florida to Texas. Then from Texas he walked to Mexico City. He also explored the Paraguay River in South America.