Juan de Grijalva (; born c. 1490 in

Cuéllar Cuéllar () is a municipality in the Province of Segovia, within the autonomous community of Castile and León, Spain. The municipality had a population of 9,730 inhabitants according to the municipal register of inhabitants (INE) as of 1 Jan ...

, Crown of Castile – 21 January 1527 in Honduras) was a Spanish conquistador, and a relative of Diego Velázquez.Diaz, B., 1963, The Conquest of New Spain, London: Penguin Books, He went to Hispaniola in 1508 and to

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

in 1511. He was one of the early explorers of the Mexican coastline.

1518 expedition

In 1518, Grijalva became one of the first to explore the shores of

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. According to Hernán Cortés, 170 people went with him, but according to

Pedro Mártir Peter Martyr d'Anghiera ( la, Petrus Martyr Anglerius or ''ab Angleria''; it, Pietro Martire d'Anghiera; es, Pedro Mártir de Anglería; 2 February 1457 – October 1526), formerly known in English as Peter Martyr of Angleria,D'Anghier ...

, there were 300 people. The main pilot was

Antón de Alaminos Antón de Alaminos (c. 1482 - ?) was a Spanish navigator and explorer in the New World. He was considered the most experienced and knowledgeable marine pilot serving in the Spanish Main during the first quarter of the sixteenth century. Antón ...

, the other pilots were Juan Álvarez (also known as ''el Manquillo''), Pedro Camacho de Triana, and Grijalva. Other members included

Francisco de Montejo Francisco de Montejo (; 1479 – 1553) was a Spanish conquistador in Mexico and Central America. Early years Francisco de Montejo was born about 1473 to a family of lesser Spanish nobility in Salamanca, Spain. He never documented his parentage ...

, Pedro de Alvarado, Juan Díaz, Francisco Peñalosa, Alonso de Ávila, Alonso Hernández, Julianillo, Melchorejo, and

Antonio Villafaña Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular mal ...

. They embarked from the port of Matanzas,

, with four ships in April 1518. Expedición de Girjalva 1518

After rounding the Guaniguanico in Cuba, Grijalva sailed along the Mexican coast, discovered

Cozumel Cozumel (; yua, Kùutsmil) is an island and municipality in the Caribbean Sea off the eastern coast of Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula, opposite Playa del Carmen. It is separated from the mainland by the Cozumel Channel and is close to the Yucat� ...

, and arrived on 1 May at the

Tabasco Tabasco (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tabasco ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tabasco), is one of the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 17 municipalities and its capital city is Villahermosa. It is located in ...

region in southern Mexico. The Río Grijalva in Mexico was named after him. He was also the first Spaniard to encounter Moctezuma II's delegation. One of the natives joined them, being baptized as Francisco, and became an interpreter on Cortes' expedition.

Bernal Díaz del Castillo Bernal Díaz del Castillo ( 1492 – 3 February 1584) was a Spanish conquistador, who participated as a soldier in the conquest of the Aztec Empire under Hernán Cortés and late in his life wrote an account of the events. As an experience ...

wrote about the travels of Juan de Grijalva in his book ''Historia de las Indias.''. In 1518 Hernán Cortés stayed at Juan's home in

Trinidad, Cuba Trinidad () is a town in the province of Sancti Spíritus, central Cuba. Together with the nearby Valle de los Ingenios, it has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1988, because of its historical importance as a center of the sugar trade in ...

, at the start of his Mexican expedition. He recruited men there, including the five Alvarado brothers. He was killed by natives in Honduras on 21 January 1527.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grijalva, Juan De Spanish conquistadors History of the Aztecs Spanish explorers of North America 16th-century Spanish people People of New Spain Colonial Mexico Spanish colonial period of Cuba History of Hispaniola Spanish West Indies 1490s births 1527 deaths Explorers of Mexico