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