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
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External links
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{{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