In 1500, Balboa sailed with Rodrigo de Bastidas from Spain to Colombia, South America. They searched for treasures (pearls and gold) along the northern coast of South America and in the Gulf of Uraba (near San Sebastian). They were forced to abandon their leaky ship in Hispaniola. The penniless Balboa tried, unsuccessfully, to farm for a living.
Amerigo Vespucci Amerigo Vespucci was an Italian-born merchant and explorer who took part in early voyages to the New World on behalf of Spain around the late 15th century. By that time, the Vikings had established settlements in present-day North America as early as 1,000 A.D. and Christopher Columbus had already “discovered” several Caribbean and Central American islands, yet it’s Vespucci’s name that prevailed. Early accounts of Vespucci’s voyages, now believed to have been forgeries, had quickly spread throughout Europe. In 1507, using these letters as his guide, a German cartographer created a new map, naming the territory now known as South America in Vespucci’s honor. For the first time, the word “America” was in print.
Ferdinand Magellan Ferdinand Magellan (1480-1521) was a Portuguese explorer who led the first expedition that sailed around the Earth (1519-1522). Magellan also named the Pacific Ocean (the name means that it is a calm, peaceful ocean).
Magellan was born in Northern Portugal (either in Sabrosa or in Oporto). His parents, Pedro Ruy de Magalhaes and Alda de Mezquita, were members of the nobility (they were wealthy and powerful).
Juan Sebastián Elcano Elcano was born in 1476 to Domingo Sebastián Elcano I and Catalina del Puerto. He had three brothers: Domingo Elcano II, a Catholic priest, Martín Pérez Elcano, and Antón Martín Elcano.
Elcano settled in Seville and became a merchant ship captain. After violating Spanish laws by surrendering a ship to Genoan bankers in repayment of a debt, he sought a pardon from the Spanish king, by signing on as a subordinate officer for the Magellan expedition to the East Indies 
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