Sebastián Vizcaíno
1550 -1628
| Sebastián Vizcaíno was a Spanish
soldier, merchant, and navigator. He fought bravely in the 1580 Spanish
invasion of Portugual. In 1583 Vizcaíno went to New Spain. As a merchant,
he sailed on Manila galleons and became rich, but lost most of his
fortune in 1587 when Cavendish captured his Spanish galleon. Vizcaíno
later regained his wealth. In 1602, Vizcaíno gained permission to
exploit the pearl fisheries in Baja California. In exchange for being
allowed to use the fisheries, Vizcaíno had to explore the coast of
Alta California for Spain.
On May 5, 1602, Vizcaíno left Acapulco, Mexico to explore Alta California. As he journeyed north along the coast, he renamed many of the locations previously named by Cabrillo. The names we now use for places like San Diego, Santa Catalina, Santa Barbara, Point Conception, Monterey, and others were given by Vizcaíno. He traveled as far north as Cape Mendocino and made detailed charts and maps of the coastline. Monterey Bay was named for New Spain Viceroy Monterey, who had given him permission for the expedition. Vizcaíno reported that the bay was a safe harbor "sheltered from all winds," a claim that was not true. Monterey Bay, in fact, is open the sea and includes no proper harbor. Most of the crew died from scurvy (a lack of vitamin C). Vizcaino's map of Monterey Bay Even though Vizcaíno spoke highly of the California coast and Monterey Bay as a good port for the Manila galleons, he was not allowed a return visit to further explore. Alta California was ignored for many decades after Vizcaíno's exploration. He gave the name to many California places but the only place he discovered was Monterey Bay. He charted the coast with such accuracy that his maps were used until about 1790 |
