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SEBASTIAN VIZCAIN
This
Spanish navigator was born in Huelva sometime around 1500
although the exact date is unknown.
However, history has his death as 1615 in Acapulco.
Therefore, his exact age is uncertain.
Vizcain took to the sea very young in life, building
a solid reputation and making the chief pilot of New Spain.
Around the latter part of the 16th
century, most people in Spain believed that California was a
state of vast riches, specifically when it came to pearls.
With this, he viceroy of Mexico received orders in
1595 to head up an expedition to explore California.
To head up the expedition, Vizcain was appointed as
commander.
In
1596, the expedition left Acapulco with three vessels, being
accompanied by missionaries.
Entering the Gulf of California, headquarters was
established in the port of La Paz, building a church and
several barracks. Soon
after, Vizcain sent more expeditions into the interior but
the native showed great resistance.
With a lack of supplies and the barracks being
burned, he and his men returned to Acapulco that fall.
By 1602, Vizcain made captain general of yet another
expedition leaving for Count de Monterey under the order of
Philip III. This
mission was to explore the coast to the north of Cape
Mendocino and to establish a community whereby vessels from
Manila could take refuge.
In
May of that year, he sailed from Acapulco with three ships.
Accompanied by Geronimo Martin, a great cosmographer,
they discovered a bay, which was called Monterey.
As he began surveying the coastline, he noticed one
particular point and inlet.
They soon passed Cape Mendocino, arriving in Cape
Blanco de San Sebastian, which is today’s Cape Orford.
Another discovery was the mouth of a massive river
believed to be the Columbia.
However, with bad weather and fog, they were unable
to enter. In
addition, Vizcain had lose several of his men from sickness
so he returned, entering Acapulco in the early part of
1603.
The
report of his journey and findings was sent on to Madrid and
while Vizcain tried to convince the Indies’ council of the
advantage of colonizing the countries discovered, he still
failed to find any type of precious metals.
Because of this, his advice was ignored.
However, in 1610, Vizcain headed out again to Manila
and during this expedition, he discovered a group of islands
near Japan that he named Isles Rices.
With this, his earlier suggestion about colonizing
was taken seriously. The
result was yet another expedition but while getting
preparations underway, he died.
From Vizcain and his staff’s observations, 32
distinct charts were created by another cosmographer by the
name of Enrique Martinez.
Over
the years, several publications were released about
Vizcain’s voyages to California in search of pearls and
gold. One of
the most profound was called Biblioteca Oriental y
Occidental, which provided in-depth information about his
voyage to Manila. This
publication, dated 1611, was actually titled Relacion del
Viage y deseubrimiento de las Isles Rices, que estan cerca
del Japan. Amazingly,
this journal was discovered in the Barcia library.
While most of Vizcain’s narratives were published
by Martin Fernandez de Navarete, others over the years have
written about this great man and his many accomplishments.
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