Pacific Ocean First Seen by Europeans
Vasco Nunez de Balboa became the first European to see the Pacific Ocean from the New World
September 25, 1513
A Spanish Soldier Sees a New Sea
In September 1513, Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa led a small expedition of Spanish soldiers and Indigenous guides across the isthmus of Panama. The crossing took about 25 days through dense jungle and over rugged mountain ridges. Balboa had heard from local chiefs that a great sea lay to the south, beyond the mountains, along with lands rich in gold. On September 25, 1513, a scout in the advance party spotted the ocean from a high peak. Four days later, Balboa himself climbed the ridge, looked out at the vast blue expanse, and became the first European to see the Pacific Ocean from the Americas. He waded into the water in full armor and claimed the sea and all the lands touching it for the Spanish Crown.
A Poorly Known Explorer
Balboa is one of the more forgotten figures of the Age of Exploration, partly because his life ended in disgrace. He had made many enemies during his time in the Americas — including the new governor of Panama, Pedrarias Dávila. Despite his momentous discovery, Balboa was accused of treason and executed by beheading in January 1519, just five years after his famous crossing. He was around 44 years old. His discovery had opened a new horizon for Spanish exploration and conquest, but he did not live to see any of its consequences. Ironically, Balboa became more famous after his death than he had been in life, as the significance of his achievement became clearer over time.
The Ocean That Covers Half the World
The Pacific Ocean covers more than 60 million square miles — more than all of Earth's land combined — and it holds more than half of the world's ocean water. Balboa called it the "South Sea," a name that persisted for a while. It was Ferdinand Magellan, sailing from the Atlantic through the strait at South America's tip in 1520, who named it the Pacific because of the calm winds he encountered after the storms of the strait. Europeans had known three oceans before 1513. Balboa's sighting revealed a fourth — and by far the largest. It opened the door to the exploration of the Philippines, Japan, China, and the islands of Oceania that followed in the decades after his crossing.