Successor to Ponce de León and conqueror of Florida, he went after Hernán Cortés, who had risen in revolt, and ended up being captured and imprisoned by Cortés for 2 years.
He was one of the four survivors of Pánfilo de Narváez’s fleet, and had one of the most eventful lives of his time.
He survived a shipwreck, and was the only one who remained alive after being captured by the Calusa Indians, with whom he lived for 17 years.
A Spanish soldier and sailor and governor of the Indies, he had one of the most remarkable lives in the history of navigation.
He was a Spanish explorer and conquistador who traveled to the New World and took part in the exploration of the coast of Nicaragua and the conquest of Peru.
A Spanish navigator and explorer, who was famous for his many attempts to establish settlements on the coasts of the present-day United States.
Spanish general, explorer and conqueror, he was governor of Puerto Rico and discoverer of Florida.
He was a sailor, admiral and captain general of the Nueva España and Tierra Firme fleets. He dedicated a good part of his career to exploring the islands of the Caribbean Sea.
He had been living in New Spain for almost thirty years when Viceroy Luis de Velasco suggested sending him with an expedition to explore and connect the territories of Zacatecas with the city of Santa Elena (Tybee, Georgia).
A soldier and sailor from Asturias, he served in the Royal Navy, holding the position of captain general of the fleets of the Indies since 1574.
He was the commander of the Tierra Firme fleet in 1606. In September 1606, he set sail in bad weather, and lost 4 galleons in the Bahama Channel.
He was leading figure in one of the greatest disasters in the West Indies Trade Route, due to the sinking in 1715 of 11 ships of the Tierra Firme and the Nueva España fleets, which were sailing together as one.
He was the first Viceroy of New Spain of Creole origin. He is most notable for putting together a fleet, based in the port of Veracruz, to combat piracy, which would later become the so-called Armada de Barlovento.
In 1633 he was put in command of the Nueva España Fleet, which was in charge of transporting riches to Seville. Of the 22 ships that departed in convoy, only four vessels managed to return to Havana.