CALIFORNIA EXPLORERS
BERING, VITUS J.
Vitus Jonassen Bering (1681-1741) was a Danish explorer and navigator who
explored the seas off Alaska and northeastern Siberia. Bering was a sublieutenant in the fleet of Tsar Peter I
the Great of Russia.
From 1725-1730, Bering led an expedition to determine whether or not Asia and North America were
connected by a land bridge. Bering sailed through what is now known as the Bering Strait, finding a sea
route around Siberia to China. He concluded that Asia and North America were not connected (although he
did not actually see North America due to fog).
On a second expedition (the Great Nordic Expedition) in 1741, Bering mapped much of the Arctic coast of
Siberia for the Russian Empress Anna. Bering reached North America in July 1741. After being blown off
course and having both a crew and captain affected by scurvy (a lack of vitamin C), Bering's ship was
wrecked on a small island near Kamchatka, Russia. Bering and his crew spent winter of 1741 on this bare
bit of land, where Bering and half his crew died. This island is now called Bering Island. The remaining
crew (which included the German naturalist Georg Wilhelm Steller) survived by eating Steller's seacows
(which were given their name because they tasted like beef) and by building a boat from the wrecked ship.
Only 27 years after being discovered, Steller's sea cows were hunted to extinction.
CABRILLO, JUAN RODRIGUEZ
Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo (? -1543) was a Spanish or Portuguese explorer (his
nationality is uncertain). Cabrillo was the first European explorer of the Californian coast. In 1542, he sailed
from Acapulco to southern California, claiming California for King Charles I of Spain. Cabrillo named San
Diego Bay and Santa Barbara. He died on San Miguel Island (in the Santa Barbara Channel) after a fight
with Indians, from complications resulting from a broken leg.
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CERMENHO, SEBASTIAN
Sebastian Meléndez Rodríguez Cermenho (also written Cermenon) was a Spanish
navigator and explorer (Cermenho was Portuguese by birth). Cermenho was
directed by Cortés to explore the California coastline in 1595. With a crew of 70
men on the Manila (Philippines) Galleon San Agustin in the service of Spain,
Cermenho sailed from the Philippines to California. After running aground near
Point Reyes (north of San Francisco), Cermenon named the nearby bay San
Francisco (it is now called Drakes Bay). They built a smaller boat from the
wreckage and sailed to Acapulco, Mexico, charting the coastline all the while.
CORTES, HERNAN
Hernán Cortés (also spelled Cortez), Marqués Del Valle De
Oaxaca (1485-1547) was a Spanish adventurer and conquistador
(he was also a failed law student) who overthrew the Aztec
empire and claimed Mexico for Spain (1519-21).
Cortes sailed with 11 ships from Cuba to the Yucatan Peninsula
to look for gold, silver, and other treasures. Hearing rumors of
great riches, Cortés traveled inland and "discovered"
Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec empire. He then brutally
killed the Aztec emperor Montezuma and conquered his Aztec
Empire of Mexico, claiming all of Mexico for Spain in 1521.
Treasures from the Aztecs were brought to Spain, and Cortés was
a hero in his homeland. Cortés was appointed governor of the colony of New Spain, but eventually fell out
of favor with the royals. He then returned to Spain where he died a few years later.
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COOK, JAMES
James Cook (October 27, 1728- February 14,
1779) was a British explorer and astronomer who
went on many expeditions to the Pacific Ocean,
Antarctic, Arctic, and around the world.
Goals--To find the great southern continent (1st
two voyages), to find the northwest passage
Cook's first journey was from 1768 to 1771, when
he sailed to Tahiti in order to observe Venus as it
passed between the Earth and the Sun (in order to
try to determine the distance between the Earth
and the Sun). During this expedition, he also
mapped northern Australia.
Cook's second expedition (1772-1775) took him to Antarctica and to Easter Island.
Cook's last expedition (1776-1779) was a search for a Northwest Passage across North America to Asia.
Cook was killed by a mob on Feb. 14, 1779, on the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii). At the time, he was trying to
take the local chief hostage to get the natives to return a sailboat they had stolen.
Acomplishments--Discovered the East Coast of Ausralia, Observed the Transit Of Venus, Found a way to
prevent Scurvy, (now known to be caused by a lack of vitamin C) among sailors by providing them with
fresh fruits. Before this, scurvy had killed or incapacitated many sailors on long trips. Circumnavigated the
globe two times in different directions, was the first person to chart the entire coastline of New Zealand, was
the first person to co beyond the Antarctic Circle, Proved that there was no Northwest Passage, was one of
the first people to know exactly where he was on the globe, and Discovered Islands such as the Cook
Islands, and New Zealand.
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DRAKE, FRANCIS
Sir Francis Drake (1545-1596) was a British explorer, slave-trader, privateer (a pirate working for a
government) in the service of England, mayor of Plymouth, England, and naval officer (he was an Admiral).
Drake led the second expedition to sail around the world in a voyage lasting from 1577 to 1580 (Magellan
led the first voyage around the world).
PORTOLA, GASPAR DE
Gaspar de Portolá (1767-1784) was a Spanish soldier, leader, and explorer. Portolá was appointed Governor
of Las Californias from 1768-1770 and founded Monterey and San Diego (California). As governor, Portola
was ordered to arrest and expel all Jesuits from their well-established colleges and 14 missions; many of
these missions were given to the Franciscans. In 1768, Portola volunteered to lead a large expedition of
settlers, missionaries, and soldiers up the California coast to San Diego and Monterey (in California) in
order to establish new Franciscan missions; the expedition was planned by Jose de Galvez. Portolá's
overland expedition began on July 14th, 1769, and included Father Junipero Serra and 63 other men. In July
1769 sixty Spaniards led by Gasper de Portola left San Diego for Monterey Bay. The Expedition was part of
Spain's strategy to inhabit Alta, or Upper, California, to prevent encroachment from Russians moving down
from the north, and to hedge her holdings against other European colonial powers. They reached Los
Angeles on August 2, 1769, Santa Barbara on August 19, Santa Cruz on October 18, and the San Francisco
Bay area on October 31 (they missed Monterey). They again failed to find Monterey on their return trip to
San Diego (both by land and by sea), so Portolá, Father Serra, and others tried another expedition, arriving
at Monterey on May 24, 1770. In 1776, Portolá was chosen governor of the city of Puebla; he served for
eight years, until his death.
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SERRA, JUNIPERO
Father Junipero Serra (1713-1784) was a Spanish Franciscan priest who traveled to
Mexico in 1749 to do missionary work and perform other church functions.
In 1767, Serra went north from Mexico to what is now California and continued his missionary work,
converting native Americans zealously (sometimes forcibly). He founded many missions in California,
including the Mission of San Diego (founded in 1769) and 8 other missions, which were often built by the
forced labor of Indians who were rounded up by Spanish soldiers. The death rate of Native Americans at
Serra's missions was tremendously high; many more died than were baptized. Serra also helped an
expedition in locating San Francisco.
Father Serra was well-known for his acts of mortification of the flesh; he wore heavy hair shirts with sharp
wires that rubbed against his skin, he whipped himself, and he burned himself with candles. Although the
Catholic church bestowed sainthood on Serra in 1988 for his missionary work, his cruelty and the
tremendously negative effect he had on Native Americans have made him a very controversial saint to many
people.
VIZCAÍNO, SEBASTIÁN
Sebastián Vizcaíno (1550?-1628?) was a Spanish nobleman, explorer and
merchant. In 1602, Vizcaino sailed up te coast of California in three ships at the request of King Phillip II of
Spain. Vizcaino named Monterey Bay (named for the viceroy Conde de Monterey who sponsored this
voyage) and San Diego (Vizcaino arrived there on the feast day of San Diego de Alcala, November 12). One
ship sailed as far north as Oregon. Vizcaino also named San Clemente, Catalina, Santa Barbara, Point
Concepcion, Carmel, Monterey, La Paz, and Ano Nuevo. Most of the crew died from scurvy (a lack of
vitamin C). Although Cabrillo had already named many of these place, Vizcaino published well-read
accounts of his voyages, and his names were used. Vizcaino's earlier attempt, in 1596, to colonize southern
California failed; it was 150 years before other Europeans came to California. Vizcaíno travelled to Japan in
1610, meeting with the retired shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu in Sumpu (now Shizuoka); Vizcaino returned to
Mexico with a mission led by Hasekura Tsunenaga, who both hoped to open trade between Mexico/Spain
and Japan (but the mission failed after the expelled Japanese Christian priests from Japan, angering the
Spanish). Sebastián Vizcaíno Bay, a bay of the Pacific Ocean, in the western Baja California peninsula,
Mexico, is named for Vizcaino.
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de ANZA, JUAN BAUTISTA
Juan Bautista de Anza was born in 1736 in Sonora, Mexico, at the northern
frontier of the colony of New Spain. Like most boys of his age and rank, he trained at a Jesuit school. He
joined the militia at 15, where he was soon promoted to lieutenant and, in 1760, to captain. The following
year, he married Doña Maria Perez Serrano. Anza spent his first 20 years of military service in Sonora,
defending the colonial frontier against hostile Indian tribes. He also helped to set up new missions on Indian
lands.
Anza was fascinated with the idea of creating an overland connection between the Sonora frontier and the
western frontier of New Spain in Baja California. Although Spain had known about Alta California for over
200 years, they had never been able to settle it. The southerly currents and wind patterns made it very
difficult for Spanish boats to sail up the California Coast. Up to Anza’s time, Spanish leaders felt that the
immense deserts in northern Mexico made a land expedition impossible. Anza knew that American Indians
had successfully crossed the desert and he thought Spanish settlers could do the same. In 1773, Anza’s
proposal to lead an exploratory expedition was approved by the government. The following January, he
assembled a small group of soldiers and workers who set out from the presidio at Tubac across the largely
uncharted deserts to the north and west.
CRESPI, FATHER JUAN
Father Juan Crespi was a Franciscan Friar born in Spain in 1721. He came to America
in 1749 to help in the Evangelization of the native Americans and the expansion of the Catholic Faith
through the continent. In 1767 he went to the peninsula of California where he was in charge of Mission
Purisima Concepcion. In 1769 he joined the expedition of Gaspar de Portola to occupy San Diego and
Monterey and continued up the coast with Portola. Oceanside’s history began when Father Juan Crespi,
passed through the area in 1769 while travelling with the Portola expedition. His reports on the area led to
the establishment of the Mission San Luis Rey de Francia (named after St. Louis, King of France). The
following year he founded the Mission San Carlos Borromeo, in the present day Carmel-by-the-Sea, which
became his headquarters. He was chaplain of the expedition to the North Pacific conducted by Juan Perez in
1774. Father Juan Crespi became Father Junipero Serra’s right hand, helping in the founding of many
Missions throughout California. Fr. Crespi died in 1782.
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