by
Juan Díaz de Solís. He would be attacked and killed by
charrúas after it. When Spain and Portugal realized that the Americas were not the Indies but a new and unknown continent, they settled the portions with the
Treaty of Tordesillas, dividing an eastern section of South America for Portugal and the rest for Spain. However, most of the geography of the Americas was still unknown, and many navigators sought a passage to the
East Indies rather than exploring the Americas. The voyage of
Ferdinand Magellan continued towards the south, passed the
Strait of Magellan, and eventually completed the first circumnavigation of the world. The first navigators of the Americas through unexplored territories, navigated into the wide
Río de la Plata expecting to find a passage to the west and reach Asia, new navigations were fostered by the rumors of silver sources (such rumors are one of the early reasons of the
name of Argentina). There were land expeditions coming from the north as well, from Lima. However, the lack of precious metals in the area, and the absence of local empires like the Aztecs in Mexico or the Incas in Peru, did not allow a notable growth of the Spanish populations in the area.
Juan Díaz de Solís The first European to disembark in what is now Argentina was
Juan Díaz de Solís, who discovered the
Río de la Plata. Solís was killed by
Charrúas, along with other sailors, and his fleet returned to Spain. The sailor Francisco del Puerto, part of Solís' voyage, was spared by the Charruas because of his young age, and stayed on the Americas for some years.
Sebastian Cabot Francisco del Puerto was rescued by the Venetian
Sebastian Cabot, and told him about myths of sources of
silver in the area. This promoted further explorations in the area. There was no silver, nor any other precious metal, but those initial myths influenced the modern
name of Argentina. The voyage of Cabot, expecting to conquer the lands of the inexistent "White King", established the fortification of
Sancti Spiritu, next to the
Paraná River. The voyage was a complete failure: they did not get any metals, Sancti Spiritu was destroyed by the native people, and the remaining Europeans returned to Europe.
The exploration of Argentina The exploration of Argentina in 1534 begins from two separate directions. Francisco de Aguirre heads into the area from the west over the
Andes and Pedro González de Mendoza comes in from the
Río de la Plata region. Juan de Ayolas, Domingo, Martínez de Irala, Jerónimo Ochoa de Eizaguirre, Andrés de Arzamendia, Juan de Estigarribia, Galaz de Medrano and Fernando de Gasteiz accompany Mendoza. ==Colonization==