Lope Martín was an
Afro-Portuguese
Afro-Portuguese, African-Portuguese, or Black Portuguese are Portuguese citizens or residents of Portugal with total or partial ancestry from any of the Sub-Saharan ethnic groups of Africa. Most of those perceived as Afro-Portuguese trace their an ...
seafarer who served as the pilot of the
patache
A patache (occasionally "patax" or "''pataje''") is a type of sailing vessel with two masts, very light and shallow, a sort of cross between a brig and a schooner, which originally was a warship, being intended for surveillance and inspection of ...
''San Lucas'', commanded by
Alonso de Arellano
Alonso de Arellano was a 16th-century Spanish explorer who commanded one ship that was part of the fleet that re-discovered the Philippines after the Magellan and López de Villalobos expeditions.
Biography
Arellano was captain of the ''San Luca ...
, in the
Legazpi-
Urdaneta voyage to the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
. They were the first
European
European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to:
In general
* ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe
** Ethnic groups in Europe
** Demographics of Europe
** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...
explorers to complete a round trip across the
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
, sailing from
Navidad on the west coast of
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
in 1564 to the Philippines, and returning to Navidad in 1565. As such, Martin is credited with having opened the Pacific as a viable trading and exploration route.
References
* {{cite book, title=Conquering the Pacific: An Unknown Mariner and the Final Great Voyage of the Age of Discovery , first1=Andrés , last1=Reséndez , publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt , year=2021 , isbn=9781328515971
Spanish explorers of the Pacific
Portuguese people of African descent
History of Portugal
Exploration of the Pacific Ocean
History of Africa
Explorers of North America
Explorers of the Pacific
Explorers of Asia