Juan de Ayolas

Infobox Person
name = Juan de Ayolas
occupation = Conquistador


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death_date = 1537
death_place = Paraguay
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religion = Catholic

Juan de Ayolas (d. c. 1537) was a conquistador who explored the watershed of the Rio de la Plata for the Spanish crown. He accompanied Pedro de Mendoza on his 1534 expedition to colonize the region between the Rio de la Plata and the Straits 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 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. He fought with the Guaraní, crossed the Chaco to the Andes, and siezed some booty there, but as he returned was killed with every man of his company by the Payagua.

The city of Ayolas in Paraguay, and its airport (IATA: AYO, ICAO: SGAY,) are named for him.

ources

* [http://www.britannica.com/eb/topic-46569/Juan-de-Ayolas Britannica Online Encyclopedia]
* [http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Argentina 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica]

###@@@KEY@@@###succession box|title=Governor of New Andalusia|before=Pedro de Mendoza|after=Domingo Martínez de Irala|years=1537endbox