Vasco Núñez de Balboa

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"On finally reaching the Coastline, Balboa walked into the sea. Waist deep in the water, he proclaimed Spain's dominance of the "seas, lands and coasts, and islands of the south.""

- Royal Geographic Society's "Explorers: Great Tales Of Adventure And Endurance", (numerous editors and writers), page 121

One of the most famous Conquistadors in history, Vasco Nunez de Balboa was famous for discovering the Pacific Ocean in 1513 (which he named "Mar del Sur"). As ruthless as any of his contemporary Conquistadors, he became the terror of many Indian tribes. In one instance, the Spainiard encountered the Quarequas tribe, which openly practiced sodomy: in retaliation, he unleashed his attack hounds, animals trained to kill and disembowel (and some write where raised on Indian flesh). 40 Indians that day where slaughtered. One of these dogs was possibly Leoncico/Leoncillo, a red haired, Greyhound (most likely Spainish Greyhound)/Mastiff Hybrid that was said to have ripped the head off of an Indian during a battle, and could confront and even kill a Jaguar (Jaguars can crush a dog's skull with one swipe). Eventually, despite his achievement with the Pacific Ocean's discovery, Balboa was accused of treason and beheaded in 1519.

Though other Conquistadors used war dogs as well, Due to their famous use by Balboa they will be available for his future fights on DF. In order to give the best fight, these dogs will be either mostly or all armored with cotton-laced armor (Aztecs used it, resistant to missile fire and obsidian weaponry, chosen by some Conquistadors as a good alternative to their heavy steel armor, their dogs often wore it) and spiked collars (used on dogs to protect them from being choked or throttled by human adversaries, often seen on them). Aside from Leoncico, there will be six others, representing the 3 major breeds available to Conquistadors at the time:



2 Spanish Mastiff (28-30 inches tall, 110-140 lbs)



2 Alano Espanol (Spainish Bulldog, males 23 in tall, 75-88 lbs, females smaller)



2 Spainish Greyhounds (Galgo Espanols), 26-28 in tall, 60-66 lbs, can run at speeds over 40 mph (though slower than Greyhound)