On the World’s Seas and Oceans - The Wise World Traveler: Becoming a Part of All that You Meet - page 33

The Spanish were in a believing frame of mind. They had grown up reading and listen-
ing to stories of Amadis de Gaula, a medieval knight who overcomes every challenge,
battles terrible beasts, rescues beautiful maidens, and is showered with honors. To the
Spanish, the New World was Amadis brought to life.
So, 190 men volunteered to go with Balboa to find a Great South Sea. They were at-
tacked by hostile tribes, bitten by poisonous snakes, and confronted by an impenetrable
jungle. It took them twenty-five days to cross the Isthmus and four days to climb down
the mountain to the water's edge. In full armor, Balboa claimed the sea in the name of the
Spanish crown. But there was no gold on the shore, only sand.
Disheartened, the men fought their way back. Only sixty lived to tell of their adven-
tures. While they were away, a governor sent from Hispaniola took charge of their settle-
ment and demanded their gold. And when they remonstrated that none had been found, he
ordered Balboa to be put to death! The Pacific had claimed the first of many lives.
Figure 3.3. Vasco de Balboa
ENTER MAGELLAN
Spain had not yet overrun the mainland of South America. The silver of Mexico, the gold
of Peru, had not yet been stolen. Spanish monarchs angrily envied their Portuguese neigh-