Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo

Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo was a Portuguese-born maritime explorer who led Spain’s 1542–1543 expedition along the coast of present-day California, the first European voyage to explore that coastline.

New Spain: The Spanish colonial territory established in the Americas in 1535, governed from Mexico City. Cabrillo’s expedition sailed under the authority of this colonial government.
San Diego Bay: A natural harbor on the southern California coast, known to Europeans as San Miguel Bay during Cabrillo’s visit. Cabrillo entered the bay in September 1542 and named it San Miguel.
Bartolomé Ferrer: A Spanish navigator who continued Cabrillo’s expedition after Cabrillo’s death. Ferrer led the remaining crew south after the voyage reached northern California.
California: A region of western North America that became a Spanish colonial province and is now a U.S. state and Mexican peninsula. Cabrillo’s voyage made the coast of present-day California known to Spain.
Portuguese people in the Spanish Empire: People of Portuguese origin who served in the Spanish monarchy’s territories and institutions. Cabrillo’s Portuguese birthplace did not prevent him from serving Spain.
Antonio de Mendoza: Spain’s first viceroy of New Spain, serving from 1535 to 1550. Mendoza commissioned Cabrillo’s voyage to explore the Pacific coast.
Santa Catalina Island: An island off the coast of Southern California, part of the Channel Islands. Cabrillo’s expedition reached the island and named it San Salvador.
Antonio de Herrera y Tordesillas: A Spanish historian whose early seventeenth-century history recounts Cabrillo’s expedition. His account is a key source for the voyage and Cabrillo’s death.
European colonization of the Americas: The conquest, settlement, and governance of the Americas by European powers beginning in the fifteenth century. The expedition extended Spain’s exploration and claims along the Pacific coast.
Cabrillo’s birthplace: The disputed location in Portugal where Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo was born. No surviving contemporary record conclusively identifies his birthplace.

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Guadalupe IslandRelated: His expedition is associated with early European-era records of Guadalupe Island.