Vasco Nuñez de Balbo, born in Jerez…
May 1509 CE
Vasco Nuñez de Balbo, born in Jerez de los Caballeros, Spain, is a descendant of the Lord mason of the castle of Balboa, which is located in northwestern Spain.
His mother is the Lady de Badajoz, and his father is the hidalgo (nobleman), Nuño Arias de Balboa.
Little is known of Vasco's early childhood except that he was the third of four boys in his family.
During his adolescence, he served as a page and squire to Don Pedro de Portocarrero, lord of Moguer.
In 1500, motivated by his master after the news of Christopher Columbus' voyages to the New World became known, he had decided to embark on his first voyage to the Americas, along with Juan de la Cosa, on Rodrigo de Bastidas' expedition.
In 1501, he had crossed the Caribbean coasts from the east of Panama, along the Colombian coast, through the Gulf of Urabá toward Cabo de la Vela.
The expedition had continued to explore the north east of South America, until they realized they did not have enough men and sailed to Hispaniola.
With his share of the earnings from this campaign, Balboa had settled in Hispaniola in 1505, where he resided for several years as a planter and pig farmer.
He was not successful in this enterprise, however, and ended up in debt.
Finally, he was forced to abandon life on the island.
In 1508, the king of Spain, Ferdinand II "The Catholic", had launched the conquest of Tierra Firme (the area roughly corresponding to the Isthmus of Panama).
He has created two new territories in the region between El Cabo de la Vela (near the eastern border of Colombia) and El Cabo de Gracias a Dios (the border between Honduras and Nicaragua).
The Gulf of Urabá becomes the border between the two territories: Nueva Andalucía to the east, governed by Alonso de Ojeda, and Veragua to the west, governed by Diego de Nicuesa.
Balboa, wishing to escape his creditors in Santo Domingo, sets sail in 1509 as a stowaway, hiding inside a barrel together with his dog Leoncico, in the expedition commanded by the Alcalde Mayor of Nueva Andalucía, Martín Fernández de Enciso, whose mission it is to aid Alonso de Ojeda, his superior.
De Ojeda, together with seventy men, had founded the settlement of San Sebastián de Urabá in Nueva Andalucía, on the location where the city of Cartagena de Indias will later be built.
However, the settlers have encountered resistance from natives living in the area, who use poisoned weapons, and de Ojeda had been injured in the leg.
A short time later, de Ojeda had sailed for Hispaniola, leaving the colony under the supervision of Francisco Pizarro, who, at this time, is only a soldier waiting for Enciso's expedition to arrive.
De Ojeda had asked Pizarro to leave some men in the settlement for fifty days and, if no help arrived at the end of that time, to use all possible means to get back to Hispaniola.
Before the expedition arrived at San Sebastián de Urabá, Fernández de Enciso had discovered Balboa aboard the ship, and threatened to leave him at the first uninhabited island they encountered; he later thought better of this and decided that Balboa's knowledge of this region, which he had explored eight years before, would be of great utility.
This, in addition to the crew's pleas for his life, leaves Fernández de Enciso with no choice but to spare Balboa and keep him aboard.
Moreover, both agree on removing de Nicuesa as governor of Veragua.
After the fifty days had passed, Pizarro had begun preparations for the return to Hispaniola, when Enciso's ship arrives.
Balboa has gained popularity among the crew because of his charisma and his knowledge of the region.
By contrast Fernández de Enciso is not well liked by the men: many disapprove of his order to return to San Sebastián, especially after discovering on arrival that the settlement has been completely destroyed and that the natives are already waiting for them, leading to a series of relentless attacks.