Esteban José Martínez Fernández y Martínez de la Sierra (1742 – 1798) was a

Spanish Navy The Spanish Navy, officially the Armada, is the Navy, maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces and one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Spanish Navy was responsible for a number of major historic achievements in navigation ...

officer, navigator and explorer from

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

. He was a key figure in

Spanish expeditions to the Pacific Northwest During the Age of Discovery, the Spanish Empire undertook several expeditions to the Pacific Northwest of North America. Spanish claims to the region date to the papal bull of 1493, and the Treaty of Tordesillas signed in 1494. In 1513, this cl ...

and the

Nootka Crisis The Nootka Crisis, also known as the Spanish Armament, was an international incident and political dispute between Spain and Great Britain triggered by a series of events revolving around sovereignty claims and rights of navigation and trade. It ...

Training

In 1755 or 1756 Martínez joined the marine Colegio de San Telmo in Seville, a school for ''pilotos'' (a non-commissioned naval rank equivalent to

Master Master, master's or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles In education: *Master (college), head of a college *Master's degree, a postgraduate or sometimes undergraduate degree in the specified discipline *Schoolmaster or master, presiding office ...

). By 1773 he was a ''piloto segundo'' (second class ''piloto'') at the Naval Department of San Blas in the

Viceroyalty of New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( ; Nahuatl: ''Yankwik Kaxtillan Birreiyotl''), originally the Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain. It was one of several ...

(present day

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Pacific Northwest

The Spanish had explored and claimed the Pacific Northwest region in 1774 under Juan Pérez, and in 1775 under

Bruno de Heceta Bruno de Heceta (Hezeta) y Dudagoitia (1743–1807) was a Spanish Basque explorer of the Pacific Northwest. Born in Bilbao of an old Basque family, he was sent by the viceroy of New Spain, Antonio María Bucareli y Ursúa, to explore the area nor ...

and

Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra (22 May 1743 – 26 March 1794) was a Hispano-Peruvian naval officer operating in the Americas. Assigned to the Pacific coast Spanish Naval Department base at San Blas, in Viceroyalty of New Spain (present ...

. In the 1774 Pérez expedition Martínez was second in command of the frigate ''Santiago''. The expedition had the first recorded European contact with the indigenous

Haida people The Haida (, , , , ) are an Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America. They constitute one of 203 First Nations in British Columbia and 231 federally recognized List of Alaska Native tribal entities, tribes in Alaska. T ...

of the

Queen Charlotte Islands Haida Gwaii (; / , literally "Islands of the Haida people"), previously known as the Queen Charlotte Islands, is an archipelago located between off the northern Pacific coast in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The islands are separ ...

in July 1774. The

Russian America Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

colonization in Alaska was a threat to Spanish territory claimed there and in the upper Pacific Northwest.

Nootka Sound

In 1789 the

Viceroy of New Spain This article lists the viceroys who ruled the Viceroyalty of New Spain from 1535 to 1821 in the name of the monarch of Spain. In addition to viceroys, this article lists the highest Spanish governors of the viceroyalty, before the appointment o ...

, Manuel Antonio Flórez, instructed Martínez to occupy

Nootka Sound Nootka Sound () is a sound of the Pacific Ocean on the rugged west coast of Vancouver Island, in the Pacific Northwest, historically known as King George's Sound. It separates Vancouver Island and Nootka Island, part of the Canadian province of ...

, on

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest ...

in present-day

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, build a settlement and fort, and to make it clear that Spain was setting up a formal establishment. The Russians were threatening to take the sound, and in May 1788 the British fur trader John Meares had used Nootka Sound as a base of operations and claimed purchase of land there from the indigenous

Nuu-chah-nulth people The Nuu-chah-nulth ( ; ), also formerly referred to as the Nootka, Nutka, Aht, Nuuchahnulth or Tahkaht, are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast in Canada. The term Nuu-chah-nulth is used to describe fifteen related tri ...

. Martínez, then ranked ''piloto primero'' and ''alférez de navío'' (Ensign or Sub-Lieutenant), led an expedition that arrived at Nootka Sound in early 1789. The force consisted of the warship '' La Princesa'', commanded by Martínez, and the supply ship ''San Carlos (el Filipino)'', under Gonzalo López de Haro. He gave Nootka Sound the name ''Puerto de San Lorenzo de Nuca''. The expedition built a settlement there named ''Santa Cruz de Nuca'', including houses, a hospital, and the presidio

Fort San Miguel Fort San Miguel was a Spanish fortification at Yuquot (formerly Friendly Cove) on Nootka Island, just west of north-central Vancouver Island. It protected the Spanish settlement, called Santa Cruz de Nuca, the first colony in British Columbia ...

. The Martínez expedition arrived at Nootka Sound on May 5, 1789. During the summer of 1789 a number of fur trading vessels, British and American, arrived at Nootka. The US ships, the '' Columbia Rediviva'' and '' Lady Washington'' under John Kendrick and Robert Gray were allowed to operate unmolested. Kendrick and Martínez were friendly toward each other and Kendrick provided some assistance to Martínez during the seizure of the ''Argonaut''. A conflict over violating Spanish sovereignty rights of trade and navigation on the coast arose between the captain of John Meares' ''British Argonaut'', James Colnett and his claim of the Meares company land, and Martínez. By the end of the summer Martínez had arrested Colnett, seized several British ships, and arrested their crews. Martínez and the Spanish departed Nootka Sound in late summer 1789. They returned to San Blas, New Spain, with captured ships, including the British sloop and prisoners. In 1790 a new Spanish expedition under Francisco de Eliza reoccupied Nootka Sound, followed by

Alessandro Malaspina Brigadier Alejandro Malaspina (November 5, 1754 – April 9, 1810) was a Spanish Navy officer and explorer. Under a Spanish royal commission, he undertook a voyage around the world from 1786 to 1788, then, from 1789 to 1794, a scientific expedit ...

in 1791. These events at Nootka Sound led to the

between the

Kingdom of Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

and

Kingdom of Great Britain Great Britain, also known as the Kingdom of Great Britain, was a sovereign state in Western Europe from 1707 to the end of 1800. The state was created by the 1706 Treaty of Union and ratified by the Acts of Union 1707, which united the Kingd ...

about colonization and territorial access of the Pacific Northwest coast of North America. The crisis nearly led to a war. Spain was looking to France for support but when they refused Spain had to back down and opened negotiations. A series of

Nootka Convention The Nootka Sound Conventions were a series of three agreements between the Kingdom of Spain and the Kingdom of Great Britain, signed in the 1790s, which averted a war between the two countries over overlapping claims to portions of the Pacific No ...

s began which led to Spain's capitulation of the area. Subsequently, Martínez lost favor due to his actions in the incident, and a new Viceroy was appointed, Juan Vicente de Güemes, Count of Revillagigedo.

diplomatically implemented the Nootka Conventions in 1792 with British explorer

George Vancouver Captain (Royal Navy), Captain George Vancouver (; 22 June 1757 – 10 May 1798) was a Royal Navy officer and explorer best known for leading the Vancouver Expedition, which explored and charted North America's northwestern West Coast of the Uni ...

References

External links

Canadian Military History: Esteban José Martínez's small biography
from th
online Canadian Military History Gateway
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Martinez, Esteban Jose 1742 births 1798 deaths Spanish explorers of North America Explorers of British Columbia Spanish maritime navigators People from New Spain People from Seville 18th-century Spanish explorers Spanish history in the Pacific Northwest

Training

Pacific Northwest

Nootka Sound

See also

References

External links