Admiral Pedro Porter y Casanate (April 30, 1611 – February 27, 1662) was a Spanish sailor, soldier, explorer of

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

and

Royal Governor of Chile The Royal Governor of Chile ruled over the Spanish colonial administrative district called the Captaincy General of Chile, and as a result the Royal Governor also held the title of a Captain General. There were 66 such governors or captains du ...

from 1656 to 1662.

Early life

Porter was born in

Zaragoza Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributari ...

, the second son of Juan Porter and Esperanza Casanate. In 1627, he joined the

Spanish Navy The Spanish Navy or officially, the Armada, is the maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces and one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Spanish Navy was responsible for a number of major historic achievements in navigation, ...

, and under

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

Fadrique de Toledo participated in the expedition against

La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle''; oc, La Rochèla ) is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department. With ...

. The year after, he joined the fleet of Admiral Francisco de Vallecilla, charged with protecting the silver galleons from pirate attacks. In 1629, he travelled to the new world for the first time, to fight against the British that had occupied the islands of

Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Kitts and Nevis (), officially the Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis, is an island country and microstate consisting of the two islands of Saint Kitts and Nevis, both located in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands chain of ...

, taking part in several conflicts in his time and in numerous naval expeditions in the Indies, as a consequence of which he was promoted to

alférez In medieval Iberia, an ''alférez'' (, ) or ''alferes'' (, ) was a high-ranking official in the household of a king or magnate. The term is derived from the Arabic ('' al-fāris''), meaning "horseman" or "cavalier", and it was commonly Latinised ...

in 1631, and

sea captain A sea captain, ship's captain, captain, master, or shipmaster, is a high-grade licensed mariner who holds ultimate command and responsibility of a merchant vessel.Aragon and Messner, 2001, p.3. The captain is responsible for the safe and efficie ...

in 1634. The same year, he published his first book on naval themes, the ''Correction to mistakes of the Spanish navigation'' ( es, Reparo a errores de la navegación española). Later he would become an admiral of the South Seas fleet. He was knight of the

Order of Santiago The Order of Santiago (; es, Orden de Santiago ), is a religious and military order founded in the 12th century. It owes its name to the Patron Saint of Spain, "Santiago" ( St. James the Greater). Its initial objective was to protect the pilgr ...

Explorations

In 1635, he applied for and got from 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 ...

marquis de Cerralvo a license to explore

, a territory that although located within the borders of the

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its prede ...

was unknown whether it was an

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...

. Nonetheless, problems and suspicions about his intentions led to the confiscation of his ships. In 1636, he tried again, this time with the license and economic sponsorship of

Viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning "k ...

marquis de Cadereyta. In 1643 king Philip IV relieved him from his position in the Navy, ordering him to explore California. That same year he left from Cadiz for Cartagena de Indias, from where he left for

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, and crossing the continent he arrived on the west coast of

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 ...

; where he would remain until 1649, exploring and colonizing the area of the

Gulf of California The Gulf of California ( es, Golfo de California), also known as the Sea of Cortés (''Mar de Cortés'') or Sea of Cortez, or less commonly as the Vermilion Sea (''Mar Bermejo''), is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean that separates the Baja Ca ...

. Considered as an expert in naval matters, his treatises were appreciated at the time. Among them were:Martín Fernández de Navarrete
Diccionario marítimo español
''Diccionario náutico'', ''Hidrografía general'', ''Arte de navegar''.

Governor of Chile

In 1656 he was designated as governor of the

Captaincy General of Chile The Captaincy General of Chile (''Capitanía General de Chile'' ) or Governorate of Chile (known colloquially and unofficially as the Kingdom of Chile), was a territory of the Spanish Empire from 1541 to 1817 that was, for most of its existenc ...

, in whose functions he took part in the

Arauco War The Arauco War was a long-running conflict between colonial Spaniards and the Mapuche people, mostly fought in the Araucanía. The conflict began at first as a reaction to the Spanish conquerors attempting to establish cities and force Mapuche ...

against the

Mapuche The Mapuche ( (Mapuche & Spanish: )) are a group of indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging ethnicity composed of various groups who sha ...

. During his government he founded the fortress of ''San Miguel Arcángel de Colcura'', built southeast of the modern city of Lota on the site of the old

Fort Colcura Fort Colcura was a small fort that was the first Spanish settlement that existed in the commune of Lota, Chile. It was on a small height on the edge of the Bay of Arauco, a little more than two kilometers to the southeast of the modern city of Lo ...

in the valley of Colcura. He would remain in this position until his death in 1662 in Concepción due to

edema Edema, also spelled oedema, and also known as fluid retention, dropsy, hydropsy and swelling, is the build-up of fluid in the body's Tissue (biology), tissue. Most commonly, the legs or arms are affected. Symptoms may include skin which feels t ...

Additional information

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Porter Casanate, Pedro 1610 births 1662 deaths Royal Governors of Chile Knights of Santiago Captaincy General of Chile Spanish admirals Spanish generals 17th-century Spanish people