Bartolomé Ferrer, also known as Bartolomé Ferrelo, was born in 1499 in the region of Levante, Spain, or in

Bilbao ) , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = 275 px , map_caption = Interactive map outlining Bilbao , pushpin_map = Spain Basque Country#Spain#Europe , pushpin_map_caption ...

Biscay Biscay (; eu, Bizkaia ; es, Vizcaya ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilbao. ...

, and died in 1550 in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

. He was the pilot for

Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo ( pt, João Rodrigues Cabrilho; c. 1499 – January 3, 1543) was an Iberian maritime explorer best known for investigations of the West Coast of North America, undertaken on behalf of the Spanish Empire. He was the firs ...

, the Portuguese captain who was sent by the viceroy of New Spain, with two ships in 1542 to explore what is now

Northern California Northern California (colloquially known as NorCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Spanning the state's northernmost 48 counties, its main population centers incl ...

. Cabrillo's expedition was the first European exploration of the West Coast. The expedition started on June 27, 1542 from

Barra de Navidad, Jalisco 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 fi ...

, and sailed along the coast up to '' Punta del Año Nuevo'', 37° 10' north of Monterey. The vessels were tossed about, and often separated from each other by the bad weather. Cabrillo died on January 3, 1543, on San Miguel Island, near the channel of Santa Barbara; but Ferrer, who succeeded him in command, continued his discoveries northward up to lat. 43°, where he saw the coast of Cape Blanco, later called Cape Orford by

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 are ...

. Excessive cold, want of provisions, sickness, and the unsoundness of his vessel, forced him to return without reaching the parallel mentioned in his instructions. At 41° 30' he perceived a point of land to which, in honor of the viceroy, he gave the name of Cape Mendocino. From this point he sailed back to La Navidad, situated at 19° 45', where they arrived April 14, 1543, and established the fact that the coast was one continuous line between these two points. In this voyage the

Spaniards Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance ethnic group native to Spain. Within Spain, there are a number of national and regional ethnic identities that reflect the country's complex history, including a number of different languages, both ...

often saw the natives of the country, who were almost naked and painted their faces. He said that “the Indians were weird but smart". They lived by fishing, and inhabited large houses. John William Last finds a full account of the expedition in the ''History of the Indias.'' Humboldt, in his work on Mexico, corrects several erroneous statements of the Dutch historian, which were drawn from the works of old Spanish writers, basing his corrections on certain documents that he had occasion to examine in Mexico.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferrelo, Bartolome 1499 births 1550 deaths People from Bilbao Spanish explorers of North America Spanish explorers of the Pacific Colonial Mexico Explorers of Oregon 16th-century Spanish people 16th-century explorers

See also

References