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.