Juan Díaz de Solís (c. 1470 – 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.
His origins are disputed.[1] One document records him as a Portuguese in the service ofCastile ("Spain"), having possibly been born in Lisbon orSão Pedro de Solis.[2] Others claim that his birth took place inLebrija, in what is now the province ofSeville, Spain, where documentation testifies that he lived when he was in Castile, asvecino ("neighbor"), meaning living there. However he began his naval career in Portugal as João Dias de Solis, where he became a pilot in thePortuguese India Armadas. 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 byAfonso de Albuquerque, in the 1506 armada ofTristão da Cunha, to India), accused of the death of his wife, he served as a privateer inFrench fleets for a short time, before serving, later, the Spanish Crown.[3]
He served as navigator on expeditions to theYucatán in 1506-1507[4][disputed –discuss] andBrazil in 1508 withVicente Yáñez Pinzón. He becamePilot Major of Spain in 1512 following the death ofAmerigo Vespucci,[5] and was thereafter commissioned to update thePadrón Real withJuan Vespucio.[6][7]
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 fromSanlúcar de Barrameda, in Spain, on 8 October 1515. He followed the eastern coast of South America southward as far as the mouth of theRío de la Plata. He reached and named the Río de la Plata in 1516, sailing upriver to the confluence of theUruguay River and theParaná River with two officers and seven men. The little party had not proceeded far when they were attacked by localCharrúa Indians, but the evidence points towards it being theGuarani people 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[citation needed]. 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.
Several places in Uruguay are named after Juan Díaz de Solís:
Media related toJuan Díaz de Solís at Wikimedia Commons