The arrival of the Spanish
Christopher Columbus first explored the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua on his fourth voyage to the New World in 1502. Pacific Nicaragua was ‘discovered’ by conquistador Gil Gonzalez Davila in 1522, when his explorations north along the Pacific coast from Panama encountered chief Nicaragua on the shore of Lake Cocibolca near modern day San Jorge. Gonzalez Davila was well received, and his descriptions were recorded by the chronicler Francisco Oviedo y Valdez. Continuing further north to the town of Xalteva (modern day Granada) however, Gonzalez was attacked and driven south, and he ultimately fled Nicaragua. He returned in the next year and pacified the region.
- Publicado en Archaeology in Nicaragua