Balboa sailed to Hispaniola in 1501 on an expedition under Rodrigo de Bastidas and Juan de la Cosa. During this voyage they crossed the Gulf of Urabá (on the coast of present-day Columbia), and saw the indian village of Darién in present-day Panama. In Hispaniola Balboa settled down as a planter. However, he soon amassed a large amount of debts, and to escape from his creditors he hijacked on a supplyship headed for San Sebastian on the Gulf of Uraiba, hidden in a cask. The ship was commanded by Martín Fernández de Enciso.

The appointment in 1514 of Pedrarias Dávila as governor of the regions discovered and partly occupied by Balboa, and his appearance on the coast of Darien with a large armament, at once gave rise to trouble. In December 1511 King Ferdinand sent orders that named Balboa interim governor and captain general of Darién.

Balboa had organized a series of gold- and slave-hunting expeditions into the Indian chiefdoms of the area. His Indian policy combined the use of barter, every kind of force, including torture, to extract information, and the tactic of divide and conquer by forming alliances with certain tribes against others. The Indians of Darién, less warlike than their neighbours of Urabá and without poisoned arrows, were not formidable foes and often fled at the approach of the Spaniards. The Spanish arsenal included their terrible war dogs, sometimes used by Balboa as executioners to tear Indian victims to pieces.

The Indians told the Spaniards that there was a province , rich in deposits of gold towards the south . This generated much excitment amongst the Spaniards.1000 men were organized and an expedition was set but Balboa was not given command . Charges brought against him by his enemies had turned King Ferdinand II against him, and, as commander of the armada and governor of Darién, the King sent out the elderly, powerful nobleman Pedro Arias Dávila (usually called Pedrarias). The expedition, numbering 2,000 persons, left Spain in April 1514.

Balboa knew he had only a weak claim to the governorship of Darien, and so he wanted to please King Ferdinand of Spain. Early in September 1513, Balboa led an expedition from Darien. The group of about 90 Spaniards and a large number of Indians followed Indian trails across the isthmus. During the third week of the trip, Balboa's Indian guides told him that the sea could be seen from a nearby mountain. Balboa, ordering his men to stay behind, advanced to the peak and sighted the Pacific.The Spaniards found gold and pearls on the Pacific coast. Balboa believed his findings would win him an appointment as permanent governor of Darien.

This proved to be true when the news of these discoveries became widely known and Balboa was appointed to serve under Pedrarias as governor by Ferdinand .


Execution

Pedrarias grew increasingly jealous of Balboa, who had become a powerful figure with many supporters. In 1518, the governor falsely accused Balboa of treason and had him arrested. Pedrarias arranged for a speedy trial, and Balboa was sentenced to death. In January 1519, Balboa and four friends were beheaded in the public square of Acla.

Biography............................Vasco Nunez De Balboa