When Was Panama Conquered by Spain? 1501

**1501** — **Vasco Núñez de Balboa** (on Rodrigo de Bastidas' expedition) made the first European landfall on the Isthmus of Panama's Caribbean coast.

**Key milestones:**

• 1501: Bastidas/Balboa explore coast; claim for Spain.
• 1510: **Santa María la Antigua del Darién** founded (first permanent mainland settlement in Americas) — by Balboa/Enciso.
• 1513: **Balboa crosses isthmus**, sights Pacific ("Mar del Sur"), claims it for Spain.
• 1519: **Panamá Viejo** (Panama City) founded by Pedrarias Dávila — Pacific hub for Inca gold.
• 1538: Real Audiencia de Panamá established (royal court).

Indigenous peoples (Cueva, Coclé, Ngäbe) resisted fiercely; population collapsed from disease, slavery, war. Panama remained Spanish until 1821 (independence with Gran Colombia).