Andrés Niño (born in

Moguer Moguer is a municipality and small city located in the province of Huelva, Andalusia, Spain. According to the 2023 census, it has a population of 22,956. Its surface area is , and its population density is . The present site of Moguer had been ho ...

in 1475; died about 1530) was a Spanish navigator.

Biography

From early youth he navigated vessels for the Portuguese government to the coast of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

and the

East Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies) is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The ''Indies'' broadly referred to various lands in Eastern world, the East or the Eastern Hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainl ...

, and he went in 1515 to

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

, where he acquired the reputation of a skilled pilot. When in 1521

Gil González Dávila Gil González Dávila or Gil González de Ávila (b. about 1480 – 21 April 1526) was a Spanish conquistador and the first European to explore present-day Nicaragua. Early career González Dávila first appears in historical records in 1508, w ...

received a commission from the crown of Spain to explore and conquer the Mar del Sur (South Sea)

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...

coast west, and north, of Panama, he constructed four vessels with timber that was transported with immense labor across the isthmus from the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

. He appointing Niño chief pilot and sailed on 21 January 1522, from Tararegui, in the

Bay of San Miguel The Bay of San Miguel or Gulf of San Miguel () is a bay of the Gulf of Panama, located on the Pacific coast of Darién Province in eastern Panama. The bay is located at . The bay is the drainage of the Geography of Panama#Chucunaque-Tuira Basi ...

. Gonzalez landed on the coast in the Bay of San Vicente (Current Caldera in Costa Rica) with part of his forces to explore the country, and sent Niño further north to discover a passage to the Atlantic of which the Indians had told him. Niño followed the coast to latitude 17º 50' north, and, finding no passage, returned to the south, where he found the ''Adelantado'' besieged by an army of 4,000 Indians, whom he helped to disperse. They then continued to explore the coast of Cape Blanco, the Bay of Papagayos, Possession River, and a gulf which they called Fonseca, in honor of the president of the council of the Indies. They landed in the possessions of a cacique called Nicarao, and, after many encounters with the warlike tribes, penetrated to the interior and discovered there a large fresh-water lake, which they called Mar Dulce, or sweet lake (now

Lake Nicaragua Lake Nicaragua or Cocibolca or Granada (, , or ) is a freshwater lake in Nicaragua. Of tectonic origin and with an area of , it is the largest fresh water lake in Central America, the List of lakes by area, 19th largest lake in the world (by are ...

), and the volcano of Masaya. The first known visit by Spaniards to what is now Salvadoran territory was made by the admiral Niño, who led an expedition to Central America. He disembarked in the

Gulf of Fonseca The Gulf of Fonseca (; ), a part of the Pacific Ocean, is a gulf in Central America, bordering El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua. The waters of the gulf are shared among all three countries. History Fonseca Bay was discovered by European ...

on 31 May 1522, at Meanguera island, naming it Petronila, and then traversed to Jiquilisco Bay on the mouth of Lempa River. After exploring Panama thoroughly, Niño and his crew sailed again for Panama, where they arrived, 29 December 1522, laden with treasure. They gave a glowing description of the country, which for its wealth they called the paradise of Mohammed. Gonzalez sailed in the following year to Spain to solicit the commission of governor of the country and fit out a new expedition, and Niño returned with him to enjoy his riches, but, his health being shattered by the fatigues of his frequent voyages, he did not survive many years.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nino, Andres 1475 births 1530 deaths Spanish explorers Spanish maritime navigators