Sebastião Rodrigues Soromenho (Sebastián Rodríguez Cermeño in
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
; c. 1560–1602), was a
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
explorer, born in
Sesimbra
Sesimbra () is a municipality of Portugal, in the Setúbal District, lying at the foothills of the ''Serra da Arrábida'', a mountain range between Setúbal and Sesimbra. Due to its particular position at the Setúbal Bay, near the mouth of the S ...
(
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 ...
), appointed by the king
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 ...
( es, Felipe II de España; pt, Filipe I de Portugal) to sail along the shores of California, in the years 1595 and 1596, in order to map the American west coast line and define the maritime routes of the Pacific Ocean in the 16th century.
Early life
Little is known of Soromenho. He was probably the same man as a Sebastian Rodrigues, a pilot on the Manila Galleon ''Santa Ana'', which was captured by
Thomas Cavendish
Sir Thomas Cavendish (1560 – May 1592) was an English explorer and a privateer known as "The Navigator" because he was the first who deliberately tried to emulate Sir Francis Drake and raid the Spanish towns and ships in the Pacific and retu ...
in 1587 during his
circumnavigation
Circumnavigation is the complete navigation around an entire island, continent, or astronomical body (e.g. a planet or moon). This article focuses on the circumnavigation of Earth.
The first recorded circumnavigation of the Earth was the Mage ...
. Soromenho had a 200-ton ship.
Voyage
The
Manila Galleon
fil, Galyon ng Maynila
, english_name = Manila Galleon
, duration = From 1565 to 1815 (250 years)
, venue = Between Manila and Acapulco
, location = New Spain (Spanish Empire ...
''San Agustin'' was sent from the Philippines to survey the coast of what became Oregon and California and then to complete the trip to
Acapulco, Mexico
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 ...
. Carrying 130 tons of cargo, the ship displaced approximately 200 tons. Soromenho was appointed as captain for the voyage of the ''San Agustin'' based on his professional skill as a navigator.
On July 5, 1595, the ''San Agustin'' sailed from Manila with its cargo, some passengers, and some soldiers. On November 4, 1595 it reached land between Point St. George and
Trinidad Head in California. Soromenho followed the coast south to
Drakes Bay
Drakes Bay (Coast Miwok: ''Tamál-Húye'') is a wide bay named so by U.S. surveyor George Davidson in 1875 along the Point Reyes National Seashore on the coast of northern California in the United States, approximately northwest of San Fra ...
, anchoring on November 7. He was greeted by the Native Americans in a manner similar to that offered to
Francis Drake 16 years earlier, but there was an absence of the great fear and reserve exhibited on that occasion. In late November, the ''San Agustin'' was at anchor when a large storm blew in from the south or southwest. The ship dragged anchor and sank. Several people died (accounts vary between seven and twelve) and all goods (mostly silk, wax and porcelain) were lost.
Construction on a launch which had been brought from the Philippines was completed. Nearly 80 persons sailed in the launch, now named the ''San Buenaventura'', on December 8. Seeking the fastest route south, the expedition failed to notice
San Francisco Bay. They arrived at
Puerto de Chacala, Mexico on January 17, 1596.
[Aker (1965)]
Notes
References
*
*
*
*
*
*Piedade, Carla Delgado da, ''O contributo português na definição das rotas do Pacífico no século XVI : a viagem de Sebastião Rodrigues Soromenho'' Lisboa: Academia de Marinha, 2006.
External links
Sebastião Rodrigues Soromenho o Sebastian Rodríquez Cermeño(Spanish)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Soromenho, Sebastiao Rodrigues
1560s births
1602 deaths
Portuguese explorers
Portuguese explorers of the Pacific
16th-century explorers
16th-century Portuguese people
People from Sesimbra
Explorers of California