B A L 



th«m ignominiouny tlirough tlie (Viects of Rome, and ter- 

 minated the tragedy by inhumanly inadacriiig them. Tims 

 they both fell after a rtign of little mure than a year, July 

 15th, A.D. 238. Crcvier's Hill. Emp. vol. viii. p. 382, 

 &c. (jibbon's Hift. vol. i, p. z(jo — 305. 



■BALBOA, Vasco Nucnez De, a famous Spar,i(h ad- 

 venturer, was a native of CalUle, and one of tliofe who 

 formed a fettlemciit in Hifpaniola. In ijr"*, he com- 

 manded a feeble colony, tllablillied at Santa Maria al Anti- 

 qna, or the ancient, fo called becaiife it was the firil fcttle- 

 lYient on the fouthern continent of America. Anxious for 

 beii*g inverted with a legal title to the fuprem.ecom.mp.nd, he 

 difpatched one of liis officers to Spain, in order to lolicit a 

 royal commifrion ; and with a view of more cfTeftually re- 

 commending himfelf to the patronage which he was endea- 

 vouring to obtain, he made frequent inroads into the adja- 

 cent country, fubdiied feveral of the caziques, and collefted 

 a confiderable quantity* of gold, which abounded more in 

 that part of the continent than in the iflands. In one of 

 his expeditions he met with a young cazique, who exprcffed 

 his afloniflimcnt at the high value which was fet upon the 

 gold, which the Spaniards were weighing and dillributing : 

 " Why do you quarrel," faid he, " about fuch a trifle ? If 

 you are fo pafllonately fond of gold, as to abandon your 

 own country, and to difturb the tranquillity of diftant na- 

 tions for its fake, I will conduct you to a region where the 

 metal, which fcems to be the chief objeft of ynur admiration 

 and defire, is fo common that the meaneft utenfils are 

 formed of it." Tranfportcd with the intelligei-.ce, Balboa 

 eagerly inquired where this happy country lay, and how 

 they might- arrive at it. The cazique informed them, that 

 at the diftance of fix funs, or fix days journey to the fonth, 

 they would difcovcr another ocean, near which this wealthy 

 kingdom was fituated ; but if they intended to attack, it, 

 they muft aflemble forces far fnperior in number and ftrength 

 to thofe which now attended them. This was the firft in- 

 formation which the Spaniards received concerning the great 

 fouthern continent known afterwards by the name of Peru. 

 Balboa diligently prepared for the enterprife ; and poffeffing 

 talents for conducting fo hazardous and almoft defperate an 

 undertaking as that of marching acrofs the ifthmus of Da- 

 rien, he arranged his troops, amounting upon a mufter to 

 only 190 men, who were hardy veterans, that had been in- 

 ured to the climate of America, and who were ready to 

 follow him through every danger. A thoufand Indians at- 

 tended them to carry their provifions ; and to complete their 

 warlike array, they took with them feveral of thofe fierce 

 dogs which were no lefs formidable than deftruftive to their 

 naked enemies. On the ill of September, A. D. 1513, he 

 fet out on this expedition ; and having continued their pro- 

 grefs for 25 days through woods and mountains, and amidft 

 contending enemies, he at length reached the top of a moun- 

 tain from which he was able to difcover the ocean, which 

 was the obje£t of their vvi(hcs. On viewing this glorious 

 fpeftacle, which no European eye had ever before beheld, 

 he fell on his knees, and returned thanks to heaven with 

 iiplifted hands for conducting him to a difcovery fo beneficial 

 to his country, and fo honourable to himfelf. His follow- 

 ers united with him in expreffions of wonder, exultation, 

 and gratitude. Purfuing their courfe, they at length ar- 

 rived at the fhore of the ocean ; when Balboa, advancing 

 into the waves with his fword and buckler, took poflcffion 

 of it in the name of the king his mailer, and vowed to de- 

 fend it with thefe arms againll all his enemies. The part 

 of the grpat Pacific, or Southern ocean, which Balboa firll 

 difcovercd, ftill retains the name of the gulf of St. Michael, 

 wliicb he gave to it, and is fituated to the eall of Panama. 



B A L 



Here he obtained a fupply of provifions ; and partly by force 

 and partly by free gift, he enriched himfelf with a confiderable 

 quantity of gold and of pearls. He alfo received information, 

 tliat there was a mighty and opulent kingdom fituated far to- 

 wards the fonth-eail, where the inhabitants had tame ani- 

 mals, meaning the Llamas afterwards found in Peru, to 

 carry their burdens. His followers were cxhaufted by fa- 

 tigue and difcafc ; and ho therefore ducrmincd to lead ihcm 

 back, inllead of attempting to take polTeffion of this coun- 

 try, to their fettlement at Santa Maria in Darien ; and,- 

 after an abfence of four months, he returned to it with 

 greater glory and more treafure than the Spaniards had hi- 

 therto acquired in any of their expeditions againll the New 

 World. Balboa hallened to tranfmit information of his im- 

 portant difcovery to Spain, a':d to folicit a reinfurccmcnt of 

 1000 men for the conqued of the opulent country, of which 

 he had received fo favourable an account. Ferdinand, the 

 king of Spain, determined to avail himfelf of the intelligence 

 which Balboa had communicated ; but regardlefs of his 

 merit, he appointed Pcdrarias Davila to fupcrfedc him in 

 the government of Darien. He alfo provided him with a 

 well equipped fleet and i2Co foldiers, who were joined by 

 a great number of voluntaiy adventurers. Upon their arri- 

 val at Darien, they found Balboa, whofe fame had reached 

 Spain, and of whofe opulence they had formed fi;ch high 

 ideas, clad in a canvas jacket, with coarfe hemi)en fandals, 

 and employed in thatching his own tent with reeds. Balboa, 

 however, received them with dignity ; and treated Pcdra- 

 rias with the deference due to his charadter. Pcdrarias ap- 

 pointed a judicial inquiry to be made into Balboa's co:iduft, 

 and impofed upon him a confiderable fine. At length re- 

 fentment on the part of one, and the envy of the iither, pro- 

 duced difienfions which were very detrimental to the colony. 

 Pcdrarias loft many of his men by IJcknefs, and this diftrefi 

 was further augmented by an extreme fcarcity of provifions : 

 and the new governor inccnfed the natives by rapacious pro- 

 ceedings, which defolated the whole country from the gulf 

 of Darien to the lake of Nicaragua. Balboa fent violent 

 remonftrances to Spain againft the imprudent government of 

 Pedmrias, which had ruined a happy and flourifliing colony ; 

 and Pcdrarias recriminated by accufing liim of having de- 

 ceived the king, by magnifying his own exploits, as well as 

 by a falfe reprefentation of the opulence and value of the 

 country. Ferdinand, fenfible of his own imprudence in 

 having fuperfeded Balboa, appointed him Adelantado or 

 lieutenant-governor of the countries upon the South fea, 

 with very extenfive privileges and authority ; and he enjoined 

 Pcdrarias to avail himfclt of Balbo.i's counfel in all his ope- 

 rations. After fome time Pcdrarias and Balboa were appa- 

 rently reconciled ; and by way of cementing the union hc- 

 tween them, the former agreed to give his daughter in mar- 

 riage to the latter. This happened in 1 5 15. Jcaloufy ftill 

 rankled in the breaft of the governor ; and when Balbo^aJ 

 with much labour finiflied four fmall brigantines, and pro- 

 vided 300 chofen men, iu order to fail towards Peru, Pcdra- 

 rias defired him to poftpone the voyage ; and ha\ing foli- 

 cittd an interview, ordered him to be arrclled, and then to. 

 be tried on an accufation of difloyalty to the king, and of 

 an intention to revolt againft the governor. He was found 

 guilty, and fentence of death was pronounced ; and thougli. 

 the judges who paffed it, feconded by the whole colony, 

 warmly interceded for his pardon, the governor continued 

 inexorable ; and the Spaniards beheld, with aftoniftimeiit 

 and forrow, the public execution of a man whom they unir 

 verfally deemed more capable than any who had borne com- 

 mand in America, of forming and accomplilhing great de- 

 figns. LTpon his premature death in 1517, at the age of 



4Z, 



