Francisco de Ulloa

Francisco de Ulloa († 1540) was a Spanish explorer who explored the west coast of modern Mexico on behalf of Hernán Cortés. The reports about his travels along Baja California have been instrumental for continuation of widespread error in the 17th century, California was an island contributed.

It is still not known whether Ulloa Cortés accompanied on his first expedition to New Spain. According to the report of Díaz del Castillo, he came later to Mexico to bring Cortés letters from his wife. Records of some early historians According however, he had participated in the conquest of the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan, now Mexico City, with ships.

In 1539, he started out at private expense by Cortés, from Acapulco to the north a small expedition with three ships. He wanted to explore the Pacific coast and search for the mysterious road of Anian, which should provide a water connection to the St. Lawrence Gulf and thus a part of the Northwest Passage. About six weeks after the eruption on 8 July he reached the Gulf of California, which he named after his patron Sea of ​​Cortés. This name is widespread today (English Sea of ​​Cortés, Spanish Mar de Cortés ). After he had lost one of his ships, the Santo Tomás in a storm, he interrupted the journey to repair the other two. Finally, he continued exploring on 12 September and finally reached the northern end of the gulf.

When he could not find in the Strait of Anian, he sailed on the east coast of Baja California south again to the Bay of La Paz, where he had again to refresh the food supplies for his team. Then he walked around with great difficulty the tip of the peninsula and gave the order to sail to the North.

The locomotion of small vessels was hampered by strong winds and heavy seas, so it was about at the level of Isla de Cedros, which is located at 28 ° north latitude, forced to return to New Spain.

Although his findings supported the fact that Baja California is a peninsula, its records were used to draw maps showing Baja California was presented as a real island. Díaz del Castillo, according to Ulloa was stabbed to death after his return in 1540 from another sailor. Other sources report that the two ships, the Santa Agueda and Trinidad, lost on the return trip from Baja California were gone.