In 1508 took place the transcendental Junta de Burgos in which the king Fernando el Católico named the navigator Américo Vespuccio and Pilotos Reales as Chief Pilot to the explorers Juan de la Cosa, Juan Díaz de Solís and Vicente Yáñez Pinzón. In this meeting, the aim was to consolidate
General
Vasco Núñez de Balboa seizes power in Darien
Vasco Núñez de Balboa, from Jérez de los Caballeros (Badajoz - Spain), had crossed the Caribbean coasts in 1501 with Rodrigo de Bastidas. With the benefits he obtained in this expedition he bought several properties in Hispaniola Island where he worked as a farmer without great adventurous pretensions but things did
Santo Domingo devastated by a hurricane
On July 2th,1502, the storm that Christopher Columbus had predicted and warned to Nicolas de Ovando its arrival at Hispaniola Island during his Fourth trip to the New World get Santo Domingo. He had taken refuge in the Azua port, about 100 km further west of Santo Domingo, almost in Jaragua. Being able to
Frey Nicolás de Ovando
Nacimiento: Brozas (Cáceres - Spain) 1460. Death: 29 May 1511 in Seville. Burial: St. Benedict of Alcantara Church (Cáceres - Spain) Charges: - Prince John's preceptor until his death in 1497. - Major Commander of the Orden of Alcantara in 1494. - Governor of the Hispaniola Government from 1502 to 1509. Most relevant facts: - He founded
First reconnaissance and rescue expedition of Alonso de Ojeda
On May 18,1499 the first discovering ships not commanded by Christopher Columbus departed from the Port of Santa María in Cadiz. This expedition, which marked the end of Columbus' exclusivity to organize voyages of exploration, was promoted by Rodriguez de Fonseca to verify the veracity of what Columbus announced in
More voyages of discovery… Andalusian journeys
In addition to that first voyage of Alonso de Ojeda and Juan de la Cosa in 1499, several expeditions, called minor or Andalusian journeys, promoted by the crown but financed by private capital whose objective was to recognize and to trade in the coasts travelled by Columbus in his third
License to Discover: End of Columbus’ Privilege
We are about to reach a turning point in the process of discovering the American lands. With the arrival of the new 16th century, there will be a major change in the way of discovering and involving new actors. In September 1499, news reached Santo Domingo that unknown ships had landed
Strength of the Conception
Transcendence of the site: First and most important fortress built by the Spaniards until the construction of the Ozama in 1502 in Santo Domingo. It was a strategic location in the Spanish expansion through the island of Haiti. What happened here? The Spanish conquistadors in their advance through the new lands found
Pedro Margarit ignores Columbus
Columbus before departing on his journey of search of the mainland left orders to his brother Diego and to the Aragonese captain Pedro Margarit of what should have been done while he was out. The captain was instructed by the captain to parade through Hispaniola causing as much jalousy as possible
Attempted rebellion in Isabela
With the news brought by Alonso de Ojeda and Gorbalán Christopher Columbus was calmer, it seemed that his plans were taking shape in spite of the fact that he did not yet see a single sign of what was seen and narrated by Marco Polo in his stories of the
The Granada war (II)
In 1484 Cordoba became the centre of operations of the Castilian armies in the Granada War. These armies had a magnificent organization that covered their most important needs, such as the supply, maintenance of artillery pieces, a true military health service where wounded soldiers, military engineers, pontoneros and masons who
The Granada War (I)
O After the reign of Henry IV, in which there were no great advances in the so-called Reconquest, the Catholic Monarchs re-launched the project of defeating the Muslims and religiously unifying the Iberian peninsula. After approximately eight hundred years of hostilities and periods of peace, the Nazaries ruled in the south-southeastern part
Rábida Monastery, cradle of the Discovery of America
Rábida Monastery Where is it?: The Monastery of La Rábida is located in the city of Palos de la Frontera (Huelva - Spain). Description: - It is a small Franciscan monastery located in Palos de la Frontera, (Huelva - Spain), on the top of a hill next to the joint of the Tinto and
The Conquest of California
The first colony founded by Spaniards in Californian territory was a small settlement near the present La Paz (Baja California - Mexico) by an expedition sent by Hernán Cortés in 1533 and captained by Fortún Jiménez. They thought the California was an island. Like most of this type of first
The conquest of Texas, the missions
We go to the middle of the 17th century. Until then, the territory that currently occupies the state of Texas did not attract the attention of the nearby Spaniards in Virreinato de Nueva España. It was a hard territory, complicated and there were the Comanche Indians who were not exactly