The discoverers of the New World were naturally the
pioneers in its exploration. The first object of the Spaniards had been trade
with the Indies, and for a number of years, until Magellan's voyage, they
sought vainly for a passage through the mainland to the Spice Islands. When,
however, the Spaniards learned that America was rich in deposits of gold and
silver, these metals formed the principal objects of their expeditions.
PONCE DE LEÓN AND BALBOA, 1513 A.D.
The Spaniards at first had confined their settlements to
the Greater Antilles in the West Indies, [26] but after the gold of these
islands was exhausted, they began to penetrate the mainland. In 1513 A.D. Ponce
de León, who had been with Columbus on his second voyage, discovered the
country which he named Florida. It became the first Spanish possession in North
America. In the same year Vasco Nuñez de Balboa, from the isthmus of
Panama, sighted the Pacific. He entered its waters, sword in hand, and took
formal possession in the name of the king of Spain.
[26] Cuba, Hispaniola (now divided between the republics
of Haiti and Santo Domingo), Porto Rico, and Jamaica.
