Sebastián Vizcaíno

Sebastián Vizcaíno (* 1548 in Extremadura, Spain, † 1625 in Mexico City) was a Spanish explorer, soldier and diplomat who traveled especially areas in Mexico, California and Japan.

Biography

Early years

Born in Extremadura Vizcaíno entered as a soldier in the service of the Spanish crown. His first try he experienced during the invasion of Portugal by Spain in the 1580 bis 1583rd After that he went to the Spanish colonies to New Spain. As a salesman he traveled from 1586 to 1589 at the Manila galleon from New Spain to the Philippines.

In California

Vizcaíno was awarded in 1593 the coveted permission to operate on the west coast of the Gulf of California, the pearl fishing. He sailed in 1596 with a fleet of three ships to the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula and gave the area the name of La Paz Vizcaíno tried to establish a settlement there. Due to insufficient supply and thus concomitant decline in morality of the settlers, however, this did not happen and after a fire, the experiment was soon abandoned.

From the Spanish viceroy in Mexico City, Gaspar de Zúñiga y Acevedo, Vizcaíno in 1601 appointed leader of an expedition to make safe havens along the coast of Alta California find, which could be visited by Spanish galleons en route from Manila to Acapulco. He was also commissioned to map out 60 years earlier explored by Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo California coast exactly. On May 5, 1602 Vizcaíno started the expedition with three ships, the flagship San Diego and the San Tomas and the Tres Reyes. On November 10, 1602 he reached the San Diego Bay, to which he gave its present name. The California coast following further north, Vizcaíno were many eye-catching landmarks its present name, such as Point Lobos, Carmel Valley, Monterey Bay, Sierra Point and Coyote Point. He was in some cases names aside, which had previously been performed by Cabrillo.

The Tres Reyes was separated on the journey from the other two ships and sailed under their captain Martin d' Aguilar to the coast of present-day Oregon.

Travel to Japan

1611 Vizcaíno traveled as a Spanish envoy of New Spain from to Japan to thank the Japanese government for the good treatment of the former governor of the Philippines, Rodrigo Vivero y Velasco to who had been shipwrecked in 1609 off Japan. Vizcaíno was accompanied by a Japanese delegation that a message Luis Sotelo had brought to New Spain. In Japan Vizcaíno spoke with both the reclusive old Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu in Sumpu, as well as with its reigning Tokugawa Hidetada in Edo son. He also met Date Masamune, the powerful daimyo of Sendai, which was the Christian missionaries set against friendly.

From Japan of Vizcaíno was trying to find the fabulous gold and silver islands that were supposed to lie to the east of Japan. His ship, the San Francisco, but was unseaworthy due to a storm and he had to return to Uraga in Japan. The undertaken in the following year trying to reach New Spain on a Japanese ship, failed and he went again back to Uraga.

Now let Date Masamune built a new ship. The 500 -ton galleon was completed in 1613 and christened with the name of San Juan Bautista. On the ship Vizcaíno sailed back to New Spain. He was accompanied by a delegation Date Masanumes under Hasekura Tsunenaga which should see over New Spain, the King of Spain in Madrid and the Pope in Rome. Vizcaíno is said to have contributed with his knowledge and experience in navigating both the successful construction of the ship and ultimately the successful journey of the embassy.

On his trip to Japan Vizcaíno published a pamphlet entitled Report on the search for the gold and silver islands.

End

Um 1625 Vizcaíno died in Mexico City.