Francisco de Bolaños was a

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 countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

explorer who most notably conducted an expedition in either 1541 or 1542 exploring the west coast of Mexico and the Baja California Peninsula. The maps produced during his expedition are thought to have had an influence on later names of places in the area.

West Mexico and Baja Peninsula expedition

Around 1541, Bolaños was dispatched on a voyage up the west coast of Mexico and Baja California in service of

Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo (; 1497 – January 3, 1543) was a Portuguese maritime explorer best known for investigations of the west coast of North America, undertaken on behalf of the Spanish Empire. He was the first European to explore presen ...

's expedition. The voyage was commissioned either by Cabrillo himself, or by the Viceroy of New Spain,

Antonio de Mendoza Antonio de Mendoza (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 second viceroy of Peru, from 23 September 1551, until his d ...

, who had also commissioned the Cabrillo expedition. Bolaños embarked from the port of Navidad, where Cabrillo was preparing for his own departure. Bolaños followed the route of the previous expedition of

Francisco de Ulloa Francisco de Ulloa () (died 1540) was a Spanish explorer who explored the west coast of present-day Mexico and the Baja California Peninsula under the commission of Hernán Cortés. Ulloa's voyage was among the first to disprove the cartograph ...

, exploring both sides of the Baja California Peninsula, reaching approximately 200 miles north of

Magdalena Bay Magdalena Bay () is a long bay in Comondú Municipality along the western coast of the Mexico, Mexican States of Mexico, state of Baja California Sur. It is protected from the Pacific Ocean by the unpopulated sandy barrier islands of Isla Magda ...

, then returned to

New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( ; Nahuatl: ''Yankwik Kaxtillan Birreiyotl''), originally the Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain. It was one of several ...

in late 1542. The maps Bolaños produced were used by Cabrillo in his landmark voyage of the

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

n coast.

Influence of Bolaños' maps

These maps appear to be the source of the names of several features of the South Californian area: Puerto de California, Puerto de San Lucas, Puerto de San Pedro, Baia de San Martin, Punta de Santa Catalina, and possibly Abreojo. In particular, Bolaños' name for Puerto de California, located at the southern tip of the Peninsula near present-day Los Frailes, is one of the first uses of the name 'California,' and predates the term being used for the area at large by about 30 years. This suggests that Bolaños' expedition is the origin of the name. However, there are several competing theories, and no consensus exists among historians.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bolanos, Francisco de Spanish explorers of North America Spanish explorers of the Pacific 16th-century Spanish people