The South American Republics, Part 2 of 2Dawson, Thomas Cleland
History
The South American Republics, Part 2 of 2
Dawson, Thomas Cleland
South America -- History
More than a year later the great Columbus himself, on his fourth and
last voyage, sighted the Central American coast at Cape Gracias a Dios,
near the present boundary between Nicaragua and Honduras. Thence he
sailed south-east along a pestilential shore for eight hundred miles,
finally arriving near the point where Bastida had left off his
explorations. It is said that Bartholomew Columbus founded a settlement
on the Atlantic shore of the Isthmus, but it was soon destroyed by the
neighbouring Indians. The long stretch of coast was unfit for the abode
of Europeans, but the Indians had gold in abundance, and the Spaniards
were satisfied that the interior was full of mines. Hundreds of
fortunate adventurers had accumulated fortunes in the placers of Hayti,
and with a view of repeating their successes on the mainland, Alonso de
Ojeda solicited and obtained from the Spanish Crown the grant of the
territory from Goajira to the Atrato, while Diego de Nicuesa was given
the coast from the Atrato to Cape Gracias a Dios. In 1510 one of Ojeda's
lieutenants founded a town called Sebastian on the eastern shore of the
Gulf of Darien. The Indians soon destroyed it, but Antigua was
established across the gulf. This place was in fact on the Isthmus of
Panama, and not much more than one hundred miles from the Pacific Ocean,
of which the Spaniards then knew nothing. Among the military adventurers
who had followed Ojeda to Darien were Nunez de Balboa and Francisco
Pizarro. In 1511 the former went a short distance into the interior
looking for gold, and fell in with an Indian chief who told him that
only a few leagues south lay a great sea whose shores were inhabited by
numerous rich and civilised nations. Two years later he headed an
expedition from Antigua which resulted in the epoch-making discovery
which has immortalised his name. As the band of Spaniards approached
the line of hills from which the natives told them they could see the
mysterious ocean, Balboa hastened ahead of his men and was the first to
catch a glimpse, but in the headlong rush for the honour of first
touching its waters he was beaten by Alonso Martin and that lean and
tireless soldier who was afterwards to conquer Peru--Francisco Pizarro.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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