Juan de Ayolas (died c. 1537) was a

conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (; ; ) were Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia during the Age of Discovery. Sailing ...

born in Briviesca who explored the watershed of the

Río de la Plata The Río de la Plata (; ), also called the River Plate or La Plata River in English, is the estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River at Punta Gorda, Colonia, Punta Gorda. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean and ...

for the Spanish Crown. He accompanied Pedro de Mendoza on his 1534 expedition to colonize the region between the Río de la Plata and the Strait of Magellan and briefly succeeded him as the second governor of the region after Mendoza returned home in 1537. Seeking supplies, he sailed up the

Paraná River The Paraná River ( ; ; ) is a river in south-central South America, running through Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina for some ."Parana River". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. ...

and founded a fort called Corpus Christi, as Sebastian Cabot had before him. Leaving Domingo Martínez de Irala at Puerto la Candelaria (modern Fuerte Olimpo), he sailed up the Paraguay River seeking a connection to

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

. He fought with the Guaraní, crossed the Chaco to the

Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

, and seized some loot there, but when he returned, he was killed with every man of his company by the Payagua. The city of Ayolas in Paraguay, and its

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

(IATA: AYO; ICAO: SGAY) are named for him.

Sources

''Britannica Online Encyclopedia''
* *MAURA, Juan Francisco
Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca: el gran burlador de América
Parnaseo/Lemir. Valencia: Universidad de Valencia, 2008. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ayolas, Juan De Spanish conquistadors Explorers of Argentina Spanish explorers of South America Year of birth unknown 15th-century births 1537 deaths People from the Province of Burgos Castilian conquistadors 16th-century Spanish explorers

See also

Sources