Photo of the Day
Balboa claims the Pacific
Friday 25 September 2026
Balboa reached the Pacific on 25 September 1513.
An 18th-century engraving of Vasco Núñez de Balboa wading into the Pacific to claim it for Spain. On 25 September 1513, having crossed the Isthmus of Panama on foot, he became the first European to see the ocean from its American shore.
Fun facts
- Balboa called it the South Sea, because from Panama he had reached it by walking south. source ↗
- The name Pacific came from Magellan seven years later, after calm sailing. source ↗
- Balboa's reward was short-lived: he was beheaded in 1519 on trumped-up charges of treason. source ↗
- Panama's currency, the balboa, is named after him. source ↗
- Image
- Unknown engraver · Library of Congress
- Licence
- Public domain
- Source
- Wikimedia CommonsLibrary of Congress