Juan Díaz de Solís ( – 20 January 1516) was a 16th-century navigator and explorer. He is also said to be the first European to land on what is now modern day Uruguay.

Biography

His origins are disputed. One document records him as a Portuguese in the service of Castile ("Spain"), having possibly been born in Lisbon or São Pedro de Solis. Others claim that his birth took place in Lebrija, in what is now the province of

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

, Spain, where documentation testifies that he lived when he was in Castile, as ''vecino'' ("neighbor"), meaning living there. However he began his naval career in Portugal as João Dias de Solis, where he became a pilot in the

Portuguese India Armadas The Portuguese Indian Armadas (; meaning "Armadas of India") were the fleets of ships funded by the Crown of Portugal, and dispatched on an annual basis from Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal to Portuguese India, India. The principal destination w ...

. After leaving his home in Lisbon and the ship that he was going to sail as Pilot, in the same day of departure of the fleet (ship captained by Afonso de Albuquerque, in the 1506 armada of Tristão da Cunha, to India), accused of the death of his wife, he served as a privateer in French fleets for a short time, before serving, later, the Spanish Crown. He served as navigator on expeditions to the Yucatán in 1506-1507 and

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

in 1508 with Vicente Yáñez Pinzón. He became Pilot Major of Spain in 1512 following the death of Amerigo Vespucci, and was thereafter commissioned to update the Padrón Real with Juan Vespucio.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.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. Two years after appointment to this office, Díaz de Solís prepared an expedition to explore the southern part of the new American continent. His three ships and crew of 70 men sailed from Sanlúcar de Barrameda, in Spain, on 8 October 1515. He followed the eastern coast of South America southward as far as the mouth of the

Río de la Plata The Río de la Plata (; ), also called the River Plate or La Plata River in English, is the estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River at Punta Gorda, Colonia, Punta Gorda. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean and ...

. He reached and named the Río de la Plata in 1516, sailing upriver to the confluence of the

Uruguay River The Uruguay River ( ; ) is a major river in South America. It flows from north to south and forms parts of the boundaries of Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay, separating some of the Argentine provinces of La Mesopotamia from the other two countr ...

and the

Paraná River The Paraná River ( ; ; ) is a river in south-central South America, running through Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina for some ."Parana River". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. ...

with two officers and seven men. The little party had not proceeded far when they were attacked by local Charrúa Indians, but the evidence points towards it being the

Guarani people Guarani, Guaraní or Guarany may refer to Ethnography * Guaraní people, an indigenous people from South America's interior (Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Bolivia) * Guarani language, or Paraguayan Guarani, an official language of Paraguay * ...

who killed him. It has been suggested that he was eaten by the Charrúa after disembarking. However, the Charrúa didn't practice cannibalism, while the Guarani Indians did. Surviving crew members reported Díaz de Solís and most of the other men had been killed, thus putting the expedition to an end. His brother-in-law, Francisco de Torres, took charge of the ships and returned to Spain.

Honors

Several places in Uruguay are named after Juan Díaz de Solís: *bodies of water: ** Arroyo Solís Chico *populated places: ** Balneario Solís ** Solís de Mataojo *other: ** Solís Theatre, the most important theatre in Montevideo ** Route 10 Juan Díaz de Solís

Notes

References

* * * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Diaz De Solis, Juan Portuguese explorers of South America Explorers of Central America Maritime navigators People of the Spanish colonial Americas 1470s births 1516 deaths Explorers of Argentina People from Lebrija People from Mértola Spanish military personnel killed in action Río de la Plata 16th-century South American people 16th-century Spanish explorers Spanish explorers of North America Spanish explorers of South America 16th-century Portuguese explorers