Vicente Yáñez Pinzón

Long ago, a man named Pinzón sailed the sea.

He was a brave explorer from Spain. He sailed on a famous trip with Columbus. Pinzón was the captain of a ship called the Niña. Later, he sailed to South America. He saw a very large river. He thought the water looked like a sea. He also found a new river. Today, some plants have his name.

His story is still remembered today.

Vicente Yáñez Pinzón was a Spanish explorer. He was born around the year 1462. He was the youngest of three famous sons. His father was a seaman named Martín Pinzón.

In 1492, Pinzón sailed with Christopher Columbus. He was the captain of a ship called the Niña. His older brother, Martín Alonso, led the ship Pinta. Later, Pinzón went on new trips. In 1499, he sailed to South America. He reached the coast of what is now Brazil. He saw the mouth of the Amazon River. The river was so big he thought it was a sea. He called it the River of the Fresh Water Sea.

Pinzón also found the Oiapoque River. In 1505, he was named a leader on Puerto Rico. He lived in many places like Palos and Seville. He may have moved to Seville to avoid people he owed money to. He died around the year 1514. People still remember him today. A group of flowering plants is named Pinzona after him. There is also a Pinzón Island in the Galapagos.

Caption: A statue of the Pinzón brothers in Spain.

Vicente Yáñez Pinzón was a famous Spanish explorer. He was born around the year 1462. He grew up in a town called Palos de la Frontera. This town sits on the Atlantic coast of Huelva. His father was a seaman named Martín Pinzón. Vicente was the youngest of three prominent sons.

Pinzón is best known for his early sea voyages. In 1492, he sailed with Christopher Columbus. He served as the captain of the ship named the Niña. His older brother, Martín Alonso Pinzón, led the ship Pinta. The brothers were very important to this first trip to the New World. Pinzón remained loyal to Columbus even when others did not. He refused to say bad things about his former commander.

Later, Pinzón led his own big trips. In 1499, he sailed toward the coast of South America. He landed at a place called Praia do Paraíso. This area is now part of the state of Pernambuco in Brazil. He also saw the mouth of the huge Amazon River. He called it the River of the Fresh Water Sea. This was because the river mouth was so wide. He was the first European to find this estuary.

Pinzón's life had many changes and challenges. He married two different women during his life. His first wife was named Teresa Rodríguez. They had two daughters named Ana and Juana. After a failed trip in 1500, he moved to different towns. He lived in Moguer and then moved to Seville. Some people think he moved to escape people he owed money to. He was even named a leader in Puerto Rico in 1505.

We still see Pinzón's name in the world today. In 1832, scientists named a group of flowering plants Pinzona. This plant belongs to the Dilleniaceae family. There is also a place called Pinzón Island in the Galapagos. A large statue of the Pinzón brothers stands in Palos de la Frontera. This statue was dedicated in 1999. It celebrates the history of the brothers and their home.

Vicente Yáñez Pinzón was a Spanish navigator and explorer during the Age of Discovery. He was born around 1462 in Palos de la Frontera. This town is located on the Atlantic coast of Huelva, Spain. He was the youngest of three prominent sons born to a seaman named Martín Pinzón. His family had a long history of working on the sea.

Pinzón is most famous for his role in the first voyage to the New World. In 1492, he sailed with Christopher Columbus. Pinzón served as the captain of the Niña, one of the three main ships. His older brother, Martín Alonso Pinzón, captained the Pinta. The Pinzón brothers were essential to the success of this historic journey. Even when other people criticized Columbus, Pinzón remained loyal to his former commander. He resisted official efforts to make him say negative things about Columbus.

After his early voyages, Pinzón led his own expeditions to new lands. In 1499, he sailed toward the coast of South America. He landed at a shore called Praia do Paraíso. This area is located in the modern state of Pernambuco, Brazil. He also reached areas further northwest, near what is now Fortaleza in Ceará. During this trip, he discovered the Oiapoque River. He also became the first European explorer to find an estuary of the Amazon River. An estuary is a place where a river meets the sea. Because the river mouth was so vast, he named it the Río Santa María de la Mar Dulce, or the River of Saint Mary of the Fresh Water Sea. He sailed about fifty miles inland from the ocean.

Pinzón's life involved many different social and economic changes. He married twice during his lifetime. His first wife was Teresa Rodríguez, and they had two daughters named Ana and Juana. His second wife was likely Ana de Trujillo. Around 1495, he lived in the town of Moguer. However, an expedition he led from 1499 to 1500 ended in economic failure. Because of this failure, he likely moved to Seville by 1502. Some historians believe he moved there to avoid his creditors. A creditor is someone to whom money is owed.

In 1505, Pinzón received a significant official appointment. He was named the commander-in-chief and corregidor of Puerto Rico. A corregidor is an official who manages a specific district or area. This was an early step in the colonization of the island. The island was known as Borinquén by its Taino inhabitants. Columbus had also called it San Juan Bautista. Although he was given this important role, Pinzón did not fulfill the commission. In 1508, he traveled again with Juan Díaz de Solís to South America.

Records of Pinzón's life become very scarce toward the end of his life. The last primary record of him is from 1514 in Seville or Triana. The chronicler Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés stated that Pinzón died in September of that year. While no one knows exactly where he is buried, Oviedo believed he was in the cemetery of Triana. His life spanned a time of massive change in how humans understood the world's geography.

Today, the legacy of Vicente Yáñez Pinzón lives on in several different fields. In 1832, botanists named a genus of flowering plants Pinzona. These plants belong to the family Dilleniaceae. His name is also attached to Pinzón Island in the Galapagos. In 1999, a large statue of the Pinzón brothers was dedicated in Palos de la Frontera. This ceremony marked the five-hundredth anniversary of the discovery of Brazil. It also celebrated the connection between his home city and Cabo de Santo Agostinho in Brazil.