Vasco N?nez de Balboa (1474-1519) was a Spanish explorer, governor, and conquistador. Balboa is best known for having crossed the Isthmus of Panama to the Pacific Ocean in 1513. He traveled to the New World in 1500 and, after some exploration, settled on the island of Hispaniola. He founded the settlement of Santa Mar?a la Antigua del Darien in present-day Colombia in 1510, which was the first permanent European settlement on the mainland of the Americas. In 1519 Balboa was arrested and accused of trying to usurp Pedrarias' power and create a separate government in the South Sea. Balboa denied all charges and demanded that he be taken to Spain to stand trial. He was sentenced to death by decapitation. His heads remained on public display for several days. The final location of Balboa's remains is unknown, partly because there is no record of what happened in Acla after the execution.