Rodrigo de Bastidas, a notary of Triana, was the first Spaniard to explore any portion of the Caribbean coast of Central America. He embarked at Cadiz in October 1500; and, after reaching the mainland of South America near the present Venezuelan boundary, coasted westward and made observations of the isthmus from a point below Darien to Nombre de Dios. Columbus, on the fourth voyage to America, sailing from Cadiz, 9 May 1502, and stopping at Santo Domingo on the way, arrived off the shore of Honduras, 30 July. There he heard reports of the wealth of Mexico, but de cided to continue,the voyage southward, search ing for a strait that should lead across terra firma to India. Thus he and his companions, including his son and brother, passed a cape to which they gave the name Gracias a Dios, and on 25 September, reached the river San Juan de Nicaragua, and heard stories from the natives which made them believe they were within a nine-days' journey of a splendid land, such as Marco Polo had described in his account of travels in Asia, and that the river Ganges lay only a little beyond. On 7 October they came to the beautiful Laguna de Chiriqui, and on the adjoining Vcragua coast they obtained a large amount of gold by trading with the natives. Columbus lingered in the immediate neighborhood of the Chagre (now called Chagres) River and Colon—at Porto Bello from 2 to 9 November, and at other points within a few miles for three weeks and five days. Thus during more than a month the greater discoverer hovered vol untarily about the spot where the strait he dreamed of was to be cut four centuries later. And when he thought to return by the way he had come, abandoning the search, stress of weather held his vessels back, so that it was not until 6 Jan. 1503, that they anchored in a little river just west of Colon. He wished to plant a colony on the coast between Veragua and Cerebaro, but, hostilities breaking out between the Spaniards and the natives, the former were obliged to abandon their attempt, and once more Columbus passed the place of the future canal, clinging to the shore before setting a straight course for Jamaica.
In 1506 Juan Diaz de Solis and Vicente Pinzon sailed along the coast of Honduras westward, exploring the Gulf of Honduras, in search of a passage by water to the Far East —India and Cathay. Several years passed be fore the Spanish King, Ferdinand, authorized Alonzo de Ojeda and Diego de Nicuesa to colonize and govern, in his name, the northern coast of South and Central America. The river Darien or Atrato was made the dividing line between their dominions. The eastern or South American portion was called Nueva Andalucia, and of this Ojeda was made gov ernor; the western division was named °Golden Castile,a Castilla del Oro, and the command given to Nicuesa. The latter secured the larger number of followers; the former, however, attracted to his standard Martin de Encisco, afterward governor, Balboa, discoverer of the Southern Sea, and Francisco Pizarro, conqueror of Peru. The forces of both governors suf fered extreme hardships. Nicuesa's capital was at Nombre de Dios, Ojeda's at San Sebastian — so named because the Indians afflicted them as that saint was tortured. • Ojeda returning to Espafiola, where he died, Encisco, Balboa and Pizarro removed the capital of Nueva Anda lucia to .Antigua del Darien, that is, a point within Nicuesa's dominions. In the contest for supremacy that ensued, Nicuesa was the loser. Balboa assumed command, and Antigua be came the centre of Spanish enterprise in that part of America. On 25 Sept. 1513, Balboa
discovered the Southern Sea, and four days later took possession of it, with all its lands and ports and islands in the name of the King and Queen of Spain. Before news of this dis covery reached the Spanish court, a successor to Balboa had been appointed in the person of Pedrarias Davila. In 1517 Balboa was falsely charged with treason, and executed. Pedrarias Davila, being superseded in command, went to the south coast and founded the city of Panama (that is, the old Panama, six miles from the present city), 15 Aug. 1519.
A voyage into the unknown northwest from Panama was made in 1522 by Gil Gonzales, who explored the Dulce and Nicoya gulfs indent ing Costa Rica's southern shore. Thence northward 50 leagues he went, to the domain of a chief whose name was Nicaragua, and who dwelt near the principal lake of that region. Gonzales learned that this lake, though lying near the Southern Sea, had an outlet to the Caribbean. In his narrative he says that the discovery is important, inasmuch as only "two or three leagues of very level road separate the two seas.° The expedition returned to Panama in 1523, after baptizing thousands of natives and securing 112,000 pesos of gold. On 15 Sept. 1521, Panama was made a city with royal privileges; the episcopal see was trans ferred to it; from this base expeditions were sent out toward Peru and into the northwest. Pedrarias, in 1524, dispatched Francisco Her nandez de Cordoba with Hernando de Soto and other captains to Lake Nicaragua. Gil Gonzales, continuing his discoveries in Hon duras and Nicaragua, came into collision with De Soto; and only a little later one of the captains of Hernin Cortes, the Spanish con queror of Mexico, appeared as a claimant for the territory of Honduras. In the latter part of October 1524 Cortes set out from Mexico, marching to Honduras with an army of about 100 horsemen, 40 archers and arquebusiers and 3,000 native warriors and servants. After mak ing himself governor of the country, he re turned in triumph to Mexico City in May 1526. Pedrarias went to Nicaragua about the same time. There were rival Spanish governors even then in Nicaragua and Honduras. Guatemala and Salvador were overrun by Pedro de Al varado, second in command to Cortes. The former country, in which a great empire had existed probably about the beginning of the Christian Era, was inspected by Alvarado in 1522, and conquered with a small force of Spaniards and native allies before two years had passed. In 1535 an unsuccessful attempt to colonize Veragua was made in the interest of the descendants of Columbus (on whom the titles, "Duke of Veragua,a etc., had been conferred), and a still more calamitous enter prise was that of Diego Gutierrez, a citizen of Madrid who led an expedition to Costa Rica north of Veragua in 1540. Francis Drake, Eng lish privateersman,. attacked Nombre de Dios in 1572. Again, in 1595, Drake (now Sir Francis, knighted for his feat of sailing round the world), Sir John Hawkins and others took Nombre de Dios; but an force of 750 men sent to attack Panama was defeated by the Spaniards when half-way across the isthmus. Drake, dying on 28 Jan. 1596, was buried off Porto Bello. The conquest of Costa Rica was undertaken by Nicaraguan Spaniards in 1560. Partial success rewarded the efforts of the soldiers; meanwhile, however, great progress had been made in the pacification of that prov ince by the efforts of Franciscan friars.