José Cardero (also Josef Cardero, in full Manuel, José, (Josef, Joseph) Antonio Cardero) (1766 – after 1811) was a Spanish

draughtsman A draughtsman (British spelling) or draftsman (American spelling) may refer to: * An architectural drafter, who produced architectural drawings until the late 20th century * An artist who produces drawings that rival or surpass their other types ...

and

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse refers to a practitioner in the visual arts only. However, th ...

. He is most remembered for his work on the expedition of

Alejandro Malaspina Alejandro Malaspina (November 5, 1754 – April 9, 1810) was a Tuscan explorer who spent most of his life as a Spanish naval officer. Under a Spanish royal commission, he undertook a voyage around the world from 1786 to 1788, then, from 1789 t ...

and the related expedition of

Dionisio Alcalá Galiano Dionisio Alcalá Galiano (8 October 1760 – 21 October 1805) was a Spanish naval officer, cartographer, and explorer. He mapped various coastlines in Europe and the Americas with unprecedented accuracy using new technology such as chronomete ...

. During the Galiano voyage

Cordero Channel , image = Dent Rapids.jpg , image_size = 260px , alt = , caption = Dent Rapids, which flows east to west between the mainland coast and Sonora Island , image_bathymetry = Locmap-CorderoChannel ...

was named in his honor. Other places in

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

were later named in his honor as well, including Dibuxante Point, "dibuxante" being Spanish for "draughtsman".

Biography

He was born in 1766 in

Écija Écija () is a city and municipality of Spain belonging to the province of Seville, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is in the countryside, 85 km east of the city of Seville. According to the 2008 census, Écija had a total populat ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. Nothing is known about Cardero's life until he sailed with Malaspina in 1789. He was a member of the crew of Malaspina's

corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the slo ...

, the ''Descubierta'', perhaps as a servant. He showed an aptitude for drawing early in the voyage and after Juan del Pozo Bauzá, one of the official artists, was discharged in Peru, Cardero began producing drawings regularly. In 1791, when the expedition was in

Acapulco Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , also , nah, Acapolco), is a city and major seaport in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semicircular bay and has bee ...

New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( es, Virreinato de Nueva España, ), or Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain during the Spanish colonization of the Am ...

(Mexico), Cardero was officially confirmed as an artist and map drawer of the expedition. He sailed with Malaspina to

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

, where he made many drawings of the

Tlingit The Tlingit ( or ; also spelled Tlinkit) are indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America. Their language is the Tlingit language (natively , pronounced ),

. After returning to Mexico Malaspina assigned him to serve as an artist on the expedition of Galiano and

Cayetano Valdés Cayetano is a Spanish and sometimes Sephardic Jewish name related to the Italian name Gaetano (English: ''Cajetan''), both from Latin ''Caietanus'', meaning "from Gaeta". It is a common given name in Spain, Mexico, Argentina and the Philippines. As ...

, both officers of Malaspina's who were given ships and the task of exploring the

Strait of Georgia The Strait of Georgia (french: Détroit de Géorgie) or the Georgia Strait is an arm of the Salish Sea between Vancouver Island and the extreme southwestern mainland coast of British Columbia, Canada and the extreme northwestern mainland coast ...

. Cardero sailed on Valdés's ship, the ''Mexicana'', in 1792. During the voyage the Spanish met and worked with

George Vancouver Captain George Vancouver (22 June 1757 – 10 May 1798) was a British Royal Navy officer best known for his 1791–1795 expedition, which explored and charted North America's northwestern Pacific Coast regions, including the coasts of what a ...

, who was exploring the Strait of Georgia for the British. Both expeditions sailed around

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

. Cardero's duties on the Galiano expedition included not only making drawings and fair copies of sketch maps, but serving in boat parties sent out to explore. After the voyage many of Cardero's drawings were copied and improved upon by other artists, especially the painter Fernando Brambila in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

. Brambila, who had never been to the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...

, produced higher quality artwork but sometimes added unrealistic details. After the Galiano voyage, Cardero returned to Spain and worked with Valdés and Malaspina briefly. In 1795 he was reassigned as a Ship Accountant in the

Spanish Navy The Spanish Navy or officially, the Armada, is the 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, ...

and sent to

Cádiz Cádiz (, , ) is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the Province of Cádiz, one of eight that make up the autonomous community of Andalusia. Cádiz, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Western Europe, ...

. His name appears on a list of permanent officers of the navy from 1797 to 1811, after which there is no further mention of him in known records. The reason for the removal of his name from the list of officers in 1811 is not known.

Legacy

, originally ''Canal de Cardero'', commemorates Jose Cardero. Cardero Street, in Vancouver's West End is named for the strait, and only as a result indirectly for Jose Cardero.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cardero, Jose Explorers of British Columbia Spanish explorers of North America Spanish history in the Pacific Northwest 18th-century Spanish military personnel 18th-century explorers 18th-century Spanish artists 1766 births Explorers of Alaska 19th-century deaths People from Écija Draughtsmen 19th-century Spanish military personnel

Biography

Legacy

See also

References