Cristóbal de Haro was a Castilian financier and merchant from Burgos, famous for having provided funding for the

Magellan-Elcano expedition The Magellan expedition, sometimes termed the MagellanElcano expedition, was a 16th-century Spanish Empire, Spanish expedition planned and led by Portuguese Empire, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan. One of the most important voyages in th ...

. Born in

Burgos Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populous municipality of the province of Burgos. Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of th ...

, Haro was based in

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

starting in 1505. After 1513, he became upset with the Portuguese crown and returned to Castile, plotting with Portuguese exiles

Ferdinand Magellan Ferdinand Magellan ( – 27 April 1521) was a Portuguese explorer best known for having planned and led the 1519–22 Spanish expedition to the East Indies. During this expedition, he also discovered the Strait of Magellan, allowing his fl ...

and Ruy Faleiro and with the Spanish minister

Juan Rodríguez de Fonseca Juan Rodríguez de Fonseca (1451–1524) was a Spanish archbishop, a courtier and bureaucrat, whose position as royal chaplain to Queen Isabella enabled him to become a powerful counsellor to Ferdinand and Isabella, the Catholic Monarchs. He ...

an expedition to the

Spice Islands In the culinary arts, a spice is any seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance in a form primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of plants used for ...

sailing westward. As a financier and representative of the

Fugger The House of Fugger () is a German family that was historically a prominent group of European bankers, members of the fifteenth- and sixteenth-century mercantile patriciate of Augsburg, international mercantile bankers, and venture capitalists. ...

s he provided a quarter of the financial backing to Magellan's 1519 voyage, which failed to conquer the Spice Islands but resulted in the first

circumnavigation Circumnavigation is the complete navigation around an entire island, continent, or astronomical object, astronomical body (e.g. a planet or natural satellite, moon). This article focuses on the circumnavigation of Earth. The first circumnaviga ...

around the world by

Juan Sebastián Elcano Juan Sebastián Elcano (Elkano in modern Basque language, Basque; also known as ''del Cano''; 1486/1487 – 4 August 1526) was a Spaniards, Spanish navigator, ship-owner and explorer of Basques, Basque origin, ship-owner and explorer from Getaria ...

. Cristóbal's brother Diego de Haro headed a commercial firm based in

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

. A daughter of Diego, Frances, was married to Maximilianus of Transylvania (Maximilianus Transylvanus), who wrote the first account of Magellan's voyage, published in 1523. Transylvanus pointed out that Cristóbal de Haro had assisted Magellan and Faleiro considerably in presenting their proposals before the Spanish royal counselors.Tim Joyner, ''Magellan'' (Camden, Maine: International Marine, 1992), 82. Haro also helped finance subsequent Spanish expeditions to the Spice Islands: those commanded by Estevao Gomes in 1524, by Jofre de Loaysa in 1525 and by Diego García in 1528. He was buried in the church of San Lesmes in Burgos, next to his wife Catalina de Ayala. The tomb is decorated with the coat of arms that King Charles granted him, with Magellan's five ships, the

pillars of Hercules The Pillars of Hercules are the promontory, promontories that flank the entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar. The northern Pillar, Calpe Mons, is the Rock of Gibraltar. A corresponding North African peak not being predominant, the identity of ...

and spices.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Haro, Christopher De Year of birth missing Year of death missing People from Burgos People of the Magellan expedition Economic history of Portugal 16th-century merchants Portuguese people of Flemish descent People from the Crown of Castile