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Mar 30, 1513
BALBOA, VASCO NUNEZ DE
He was the first European to see the eastern part of the Pacific Ocean after crossing the Isthmus of Panama overland. -
Sep 3, 1514
CASTILLO, BERNAL DIAZ DEL
In 1514, he went to America as a soldier, with Pedrarias Dávila, the new governor of Darien. -
Nov 10, 1514
CASTILLO, BERNAL DIAZ DEL
he went to America as a soldier, with Pedrarias Dávila, the new governor of Darien. -
Feb 14, 1517
CORDOBA, 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. -
Sep 8, 1521
CORTES, HERNAN
He then brutally killed the Aztec emperor Montezuma and conquered his Aztec Empire of Mexico, claiming all of Mexico for Spain in 1521 -
Sep 3, 1526
AYLLON, LUCAS VAZQUEZ DE
He tried to start a colony in North America in 1526. His attempt to settle the coast of the Carolinas was unsuccessful. -
Dec 28, 1526
DE AYLLON, LUCAS VAZQUEZ
Spanish conquistador and explorer who tried to start a colony in North America in 1526. -
Apr 19, 1527
CABEZA DE VACA, ALVAR NUNEZ
sailed to North America from Spain, leaving in 1527. He traveled from Florida to Texas on a raft, then walked from Texas to Mexico City. He also explored the Paraguay River in South America. De Vaca and his fellow travelers were the first Europeans to see the bison, or American buffalo. -
Nov 7, 1540
CORONADO, FRANCISCO VASQUEZ DE
Coronado led a major Spanish expedition up Mexico’s western coast and into the region that is now the southwestern United States. -
Jul 12, 1542
CABRILLO, JUAN RODRIGUEZ
In 1542, he sailed from Acapulco to southern California,