Conquistadors

In the early modern period, the voyages of Christopher Columbus initiated European exploration and colonization of the American continents. Christopher Columbus was a navigator and an admiral for the Crown of Castile whose voyages to Americaare of great significance in western history; particularly his original voyage of 1492, he did actually reach the South American mainland until his third voyage in 1498.

At the time of the European discovery of most of the islands of the Caribbean, three major Amerindian indigenous peoples lived on the islands: the Taíno in the Greater Antilles, The Bahamas and the Leeward Islands; the Island Calebs and Galibi in the Windward Islands; and the Ciboney in western Cuba. The Taínos are subdivided into Classic Taínos, who occupied Hispaniola and Puerto Rico, Western Taínos, who occupied Cuba, Jamaica, and the Bahamian archipelago, and the Eastern Taínos, who occupied the Leeward Islands.[1] Trinidad was inhabited by both Carib speaking and Arawak-speaking groups. Most of modern Central America was part of the Mesoamerican civilization. The Native American societies of Mesoamerica occupied the land ranging from central Mexico in the north to Costa Rica in the south. The cultures of Panama traded with both Mesoamerica and South America, and can be considered transitional between those two cultural areas.

Columbus' discovery of the Americas[2][3] subsequently led to the major sea powers in Europe sending expeditions to the New World to build trade networks and colonies and to convert the native peoples to Christianity. Pope Alexander VI divided "newly discovered" lands outside Europe between Spain and Portugal along a north-south meridian 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde islands (off the west coast of Africa). This division was never accepted by the rulers of England or France. (See also the Treaty of Tordesillas that followed the papal decree.)

The Spanish conquistador Vasco Núñez de Balboa 1475-1519 explored Central America and discovered the Pacific Ocean.He was the first Spanish explorer to gain a permanent foothold on the American mainland.

Source: Answers.com