Ruy López de Villalobos
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Ruy López de Villalobos (; ca. 1500 – April 4, 1546) was a Spanish
explorer Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians. Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...
who sailed the
Pacific 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 ...
from
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 ...
to establish a permanent foothold for Spain in the
East Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies), is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The Indies refers to various lands in the East or the Eastern hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainlands found in and around t ...
, which was near the Line of Demarcation between Spain and
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
according to the
Treaty of Zaragoza The Treaty of Zaragoza, also called the Capitulation of Zaragoza (alternatively spelled Saragossa) was a peace treaty between Castile and Portugal, signed on 22 April 1529 by King John III of Portugal and the Castilian emperor Charles V, in the ...
in 1529. Villalobos gave 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 ...
their name, after calling them ''Las Islas Filipinas'' in honor of Philip of Austria, the
Prince of Asturias Prince or Princess of Asturias ( es, link=no, Príncipe/Princesa de Asturias; ast, Príncipe d'Asturies) is the main substantive title used by the heir apparent or heir presumptive to the monarchy of Spain, throne of Spain. According to the Sp ...
at the time, who later became
Philip II of Spain Philip II) in Spain, while in Portugal and his Italian kingdoms he ruled as Philip I ( pt, Filipe I). (21 May 152713 September 1598), also known as Philip the Prudent ( es, Felipe el Prudente), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from ...
.


Expedition to the Philippine Islands

López de Villalobos was commissioned in 1541 by the
Viceroy of New Spain The following is a list of Viceroys of New Spain. In addition to viceroys, the following lists the highest Spanish governors of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, before the appointment of the first viceroy or when the office of viceroy was vacant. M ...
,
Antonio de Mendoza Antonio de Mendoza y Pacheco (, ; 1495 – 21 July 1552) was a Spanish colonial administrator who was the first Viceroy of New Spain, serving from 14 November 1535 to 25 November 1550, and the third Viceroy of Peru, from 23 September 1551, ...
, who was the first colonial administrator in the
New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 3 ...
, to send an expedition to the ''Islas del Poniente'', meaning ''Islands of the West'', now known as 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 ...
. His fleet of six galleon ships, the ''Santiago'', ''San Jorge'', ''San Antonio'', ''San Cristóbal'', ''San Martín'', and ''San Juan'', left
Barra de Navidad Barra de Navidad is a small town located on the western coastline of the Mexican state of Jalisco. It belongs to the municipality of Cihuatlán. The town of Barra de Navidad (Christmas Sandbar) with a population of 7000+ is a small farming and f ...
,
Jalisco Jalisco (, , ; Nahuatl: Xalixco), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco ; Nahuatl: Tlahtohcayotl Xalixco), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal En ...
, Mexico with 370 to 400 men on November 1, 1542. The fleet first encountered the Revilla Gigedo Islands off the west coast of Mexico, among which the sighting of
Roca Partida Roca Partida ( en, Split Rock) ranks as the smallest of the four Revillagigedo Islands, part of the Free and Sovereign State of Colima in Mexico. The uninhabited island (Latitude 19° 0'2.53"N, Longitude 112° 4'5.35"W) encompasses an extremely sm ...
was reported for the first time. On 26 December 1542 they sighted a group of islands in the
Marshalls Marshalls is an American chain of off-price department stores owned by TJX Companies. Marshalls has over 1,000 American stores, including larger stores named Marshalls Mega Store, covering 42 states and Puerto Rico, and 61 stores in Canada. M ...
that they called ''Corales'' (Corals in Spanish), which most probably are those of the
Wotje Atoll Wotje Atoll ( Marshallese: , ) is a coral atoll of 75 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ratak Chain of the Marshall Islands. Geography Wotje's land area of is one of the largest in the Marshall Islands, and en ...
. They thought these to be the ''Los Reyes'' islands previously charted by Álvaro de Saavedra in his 1528 expedition. They anchored at one of the islets that they named ''San Esteban'' (St. Stephen). They left on 6 January 1543 and that same day they sighted several small islands on the same latitude as the Corales, which they named ''
Los Jardines Los Jardines or Los Buenos Jardines (Spanish for "the good gardens") are phantom islands supposedly located northeast of the Mariana Islands. The islands were reportedly visited by Spanish explorers Álvaro de Saavedra Cerón (who named them ...
(The Gardens)'', which were those of
Kwajalein Kwajalein Atoll (; Marshallese: ) is part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI). The southernmost and largest island in the atoll is named Kwajalein Island, which its majority English-speaking residents (about 1,000 mostly U.S. civilia ...
. On 23 January 1543 the expedition found Fais in the Carolines that they charted as ''Matelotes''. On 26 January 1543 they charted some new islands as ''Los Arrecifes'' (The Reefs) which have been identified as the
Yap Yap ( yap, Waqaab) traditionally refers to an island group located in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, a part of Yap State. The name "Yap" in recent years has come to also refer to the state within the Federated States of Micr ...
s also in the Carolines. According to
Oskar Spate Oskar Hermann Khristian Spate (30 March 191129 May 2000) was a geographer best known for his role in strengthening geography as a discipline in Australia and the Pacific. Early life Spate was born to a German father and an English mother in the ...
with Villalobos there was the pilot Juan Gaetan, credited for the discovery of Hawaii by La Perouse. Gaetan's voyage is described in similar terms, with the same sequence of islands in 1753, with no identification to any others known at the time, which is an a posteriori conjecture. In 1825, Casado Giraldes, a Portuguese geographer states that the Sandwich Islands were discovered by Gaetan in 1542, and does not even mention
James Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean an ...
. Between January 6 and 23, 1543, the galleon ''San Cristóbal'' piloted by
Gines de Mafra Gines is a municipality in the south-west Spain, in the province of Seville, Andalusia. It is part of the metropolitan area of Seville. Gines has a population of 13,529 inhabitants as of 2021 and an area of . Founded in Roman times, the land h ...
, who was a member of the crew of the
Magellan expedition The Magellan expedition, also known as the Magellan–Elcano expedition, was the first voyage around the world in recorded history. It was a 16th century Spanish expedition initially led by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan to the Moluccas ...
in 1519–1522, was separated from the fleet during a severe storm. This ship eventually reached the island of Mazaua, a place where Magellan anchored in 1521. This was the second visit of de Mafra to the Philippines, which is identified today as
Limasawa Limasawa, officially the Municipality of Limasawa ( Cebuano: ''Lungsod sa Limasawa''; Filipino: ''Bayan ng Limasawa''), is an island municipality in the province of Southern Leyte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a popula ...
in the southern island of Leyte. The story of Limasawa was written in 1667 by a Jesuit priest, Friar
Francisco Combés Francisco Combés (1620 – 1665) was a Spanish priest who established Christian monasteries in the Philippines in the 17th century. Life Combés was born in Zaragoza (Spain) in 1620. When he was twelve, he joined the Jesuit order as a novice at ...
. His documents on ''"Limasawa"'' has been translated by historians. On February 29, 1543, they entered Baganga Bay, which they named Malaga on the eastern coast of
Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...
. López de Villalobos named
Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...
" Caesarea Karoli" after the
Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...
, Charles V of Spain. The fleet stayed there for 32 days; the entire crew suffered extreme hunger. He ordered his men to plant corn but it failed. On March 31, 1543, the fleet left in search of Mazaua for food. Because of low-winds they could not sail on. After several days of struggle, they reached Sarangani. A Portuguese contingent arrived on August 7, and delivered a letter from Jorge de Castro, governor of the
Moluccas The Maluku Islands (; Indonesian: ''Kepulauan Maluku'') or the Moluccas () are an archipelago in the east of Indonesia. Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone. Geographically they are located eas ...
, demanding an explanation for the presence of the fleet in Portuguese territory. López de Villalobos responded, in a letter dated August 9, that they were not trespassing, and were within the Demarcation Line of the
Crown of Castile The Crown of Castile was a medieval polity in the Iberian Peninsula that formed in 1230 as a result of the third and definitive union of the crowns and, some decades later, the parliaments of the kingdoms of Castile and León upon the accessi ...
. The San Juan left for Mexico on August 27, 1543, with
Bernardo de la Torre Bernardo de la Torre was a Spanish sailor, primarily noted for having explored parts of the Western Pacific Ocean south of Japan in the 16th century. Bernardo de la Torre sailed under the instructions of Ruy López de Villalobos, who sent him in Au ...
as captain. Another letter from Castro arrived in the first week of September with the same protest, and López de Villalobos wrote a reply dated September 12, 1543, with the same message as his first. He departed to
Abuyog Abuyog (IPA: ɐ'bujog, officially the Municipality of Abuyog ( war, Bungto han Abuyog; ceb, Lungsod sa Abuyog; tl, Bayan ng Abuyog), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Leyte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a po ...
,
Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has be ...
with his remaining ships, the ''San Juan'', and the ''San Cristóbal''. The fleet could not make headway because of unfavorable winds. In April 1544, he sailed for Island of Amboyna. He, and his crew members then made their way to the islands of
Samar Samar ( ) is the third-largest and seventh-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 1,909,537 as of the 2020 census. It is located in the eastern Visayas, which are in the central Philippines. The island is divided in ...
, and
Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has be ...
, which he named ''Las Islas Filipinas (The Philippine Islands)'' in honour of the Prince of Spain,
Philip II Philip II may refer to: * Philip II of Macedon (382–336 BC) * Philip II (emperor) (238–249), Roman emperor * Philip II, Prince of Taranto (1329–1374) * Philip II, Duke of Burgundy (1342–1404) * Philip II, Duke of Savoy (1438-1497) * Philip ...
. Driven away by hostile natives, hunger, and a shipwreck, López de Villalobos was forced to abandon his settlements in the islands, and the expedition. He, and his crew members sought refuge in the Moluccas, where they quarrelled with the Portuguese, who imprisoned them. López de Villalobos died on April 4, 1544, in his prison cell on the island of Amboyna, of a tropical fever, or as the Portuguese said "of a broken heart".William Henry Scott (1985) ''Cracks in the Parchment Curtain'' p54 Some 117 remaining crew members survived, among them were de Mafra, and
Guido de Lavezaris Guido de Lavezaris (c. 1512 – d. 1581) was the second Spanish Governor General of the Philippines. He succeeded Miguel López de Legazpi in 1572 as governor, and was succeeded by Francisco de Sande on August 25, 1575. Early life Little was kn ...
. De Mafra produced one manuscript on the Magellan-Elcano circumnavigation, and had this delivered to Spain by a friend on board. They sailed for
Malacca Malacca ( ms, Melaka) is a state in Malaysia located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, next to the Strait of Malacca. Its capital is Malacca City, dubbed the Historic City, which has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site si ...
, where the Portuguese put them on a ship bound for
Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
. Thirty elected to remain, including de Mafra. His manuscript remained unrecognized for many centuries. It was discovered in the 20th century, and published in 1920. An account of the voyage based on the recollections of a surviving Italian sailor, Juan Gaetano, was published in 1550-1559 by
Giovanni Battista Ramusio Giovanni Battista Ramusio (; July 20, 1485 – July 10, 1557) was an Italian geographer and travel writer. Born in Treviso, Italy, at that time in the Republic of Venice, Ramusio was the son of Paolo Ramusio, a magistrate of the Venetian ci ...
, an Italian historian, in his ''Navigationi et Viaggi'' ("Navigations and Travels"); a collection of explorers' first-hand accounts of their travels which also included accounts of
Marco Polo Marco Polo (, , ; 8 January 1324) was a Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in ''The Travels of Marco Polo'' (also known as ''Book of the Marv ...
,
Magellan Ferdinand Magellan ( or ; pt, Fernão de Magalhães, ; es, link=no, Fernando de Magallanes, ; 4 February 1480 – 27 April 1521) was a Portuguese explorer. He is best known for having planned and led the 1519 Spanish expedition to the East ...
, Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca and others.Quanchi, ''Historical Dictionary of the Discovery and Exploration of the Pacific Islands'', page 247


References


Publications

*de Jesus, Vicente C. (2002). Mazaua Historiography. Retrieved February 27, 2007. *''De la Costa', Horacio. 1958. "The Villalobos Expedition 1542-1546." In: ''The Bulletin of the Philippine Historical Association'', No. 5, September.'' *''Escalante Alvarado, García de. 1546. ''Colección de documentos inéditos relativos al descubrimiento, conquesta y organización de las Antiguas posesiones españolas en América y Oceania'' (42 v., Madrid, 1864-1884), tomo v, pp. 117–209.'' *''Howgego, Ramond John. 2002. ''Encyclopedia of Exploration''. Sydney: Hordern House.'' *''Lach, Donald. 1965. ''Asia in the Making of Europe''. Vol. 1, Chicago, p. 643.'' *''Noone, Martín J. ''The Discovery and Conquest of the Philippines 1521–1581. Ireland, 1983.'' * *''Rebelo, Gabriel. 1561. ''Historia das ilhas de Maluco''. In: ''Documentação para a História das Missões do Padroado Português do Oriente: Insulíndia''. Lisboã: Agencia Geral do Ultramar. 1955. Cited by José Manuel Garcia in ''As Filipinas na historiografía portuguesa do século XVI'',Centro Portugués de Estudos do Sudeste Asiático, Porto: 2003.'' *''Santisteban, Fray Geronimo de. 1546. ''Colección de documentos inéditos relativos al descubrimiento, conquesta y organización de las antiguas posesiones españolas en América y Oceania'' (42 v., Madrid, 1864–1884), tomo v., pp. 151–165.'' *''Sharp, Andrew. 1960. ''The Discovery of the Pacific Islands''. London: Osford University Press.'' *


External links


The First Discovery of Australia and New Guinea by Roque Santacruz, Chapter IVPacific Maritime History Mazaua: Magellan's Lost Harbour
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lopez De Villalobos, Ruy People of Spanish colonial Philippines Spanish explorers Spanish explorers of the Pacific Explorers of Asia People of New Spain 1500 births 1544 deaths Colonial Mexico 16th-century Spanish people 16th-century explorers People from Málaga Spanish East Indies