Juan Díaz de Solís

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Juan Díaz de Solís, (1470 – January 20, 1516), was a Spanish navigator and explorer.

Díaz de Solís was probably born in Lebrija, Seville[1][2], although some other authors argue that his birth may have actually taken place in Portugal to an Andalusian emigree family.[3]

He served as navigator on expeditions to the Yucatan in 1506-1507[4] and Brazil in 1508 with Vicente Yáñez Pinzón. He became a Pilot-Major of Spain in 1512 following the death of Amerigo Vespucci,[5] and was thereafter commissioned to update the Padrón Real with Juan Vespucci.[6][7] Two years after appointment to this office, Díaz de Solís prepared an expedition to explore the southern part of the new continent. His three ships and crew of 70 men sailed from Sanlucar de Barrameda on October 8, 1515. He followed the eastern coast as far as the mouth of the Río de la Plata. He reached and named the Río de la Plata in 1516, sailing up river to the confluence of the Uruguay River and Paraná River with two officers and seven men.

The little party had not proceeded far when they were attacked by local Charrua or Guarani. Surviving crew members reported Díaz de Solís and most of the other men were killed and cannibalized, thus putting the expedition to an end. Some sources[citation needed] believe that Díaz de Solís was killed in a mutiny and the story about being killed and cannibalized was forged by his crew. His brother-in-law, Francisco de Torres, took charge of the ships and returned to Spain.

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  1. ^ Markham, Clements R.: "Columbus, and the Fourth Centenary of His Discovery", Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society and Monthly Record of Geography, New Monthly Series, Vol. 14, No. 9. (Sep., 1892), pp. 610-611. [1]
  2. ^ Felipe Guaman Poma of Ayala: Nueva Crónica y Buen Gobierno, Tomo 1, pp. 373-onwards
  3. ^ Medina, José Toribio: Juan Díaz de Solís. Estudio Histórico, Santiago de Chile : J.T. Medina, 1897
  4. ^ Brevoort, James Carson: "Notes on Giovanni da Verrazano and on a Planisphere of 1529, Illustrating His American Voyage in 1524, with a Reduced Copy of the Map", Journal of the American Geographical Society of New York, Vol. 4. (1873), pp. 145-297. [2]
  5. ^ Hall, Elial F.: "Americus Vespucius", Journal of the American Geographical Society of New York, Vol. 24. (1892), page 376. [3]
  6. ^ Archivo General de Indias,, "Comisión a Juan Díaz de Solís y Juan Vespucci", ES.41091.AGI/16404.46.5.1//CONTRATACION,5784,L.1,F.20-21.
  7. ^ Stevenson, Edward L.: "The Geographical Activities of the Casa de la Contratacion", Annals of the Association of American Geographers, Vol. 17, No. 2. (Jun., 1927), pp. 39-59.[4]
  • Davies, Arthur : "The First Discovery and Exploration of the Amazon in 1498-99," Transactions and Papers (Institute of British Geographers), No. 22. (1956), pp. 87-96. [5].