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Ruy López de Villalobos

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For the priest and early chess master, seeRuy López de Segura.
Ruy López de Villalobos
Bornc. 1500
Málaga,Crown of Castile
Died(1546-04-23)23 April 1546
Ambon,Moluccas,Portuguese East Indies
Known forSometimes credited withnamingthePhilippines

Ruy López de Villalobos(Spanish pronunciation:[rujˈlopeθðeβiʝaˈloβos];c. 1500– 23 April 1546) was aSpanishexplorerwho led a failed attempt to colonize thePhilippinesin 1544, attempting to assert Spanish control there under the terms of thetreaties of TordesillasandZaragoza.Unable to feed his men through barter, raiding, or farming and unable to request resupply fromMexicodue to poor knowledge of thePacific's winds and currents, Villalobos abandoned his mission and fled to thePortuguese-heldMoluccas,where he died in prison. He is chiefly remembered for some sources crediting him with namingLeytethe "Philippine Island" in honor of the Spanishcrown princePhilip(later King PhilipII). Thename was later extendedacross the entirePhilippine Archipelagoandits nation.(Other sources credit the name to one of his captains,Bernardo de la Torre.)

Background

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Ruy López de Villalobos was born inMálaga,Spain sometime between 1505 and 1510. He was a member of a distinguished family and his father was a close associate of the king,Ferdinand II of Aragon.He was well educated and may have studied law. At some point he became an experienced mariner andPedro de Alvaradoreferred to him as "a very expert and practical gentleman in things of the sea."[1]

Philippine expedition

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The plaque inMálaga,Spain,Villalobos's home town, commemorating his naming of the Philippines.

Villalobos was commissioned in 1541 byAntonio de Mendoza,theviceroyofNew Spainand first colonial administrator in theNew World,to send an expedition to thePhilippines,then known to the Spanish as the "Islands of the West" (Islas del Poniente). They lay at the far western frontier of the division of the world betweenSpainandPortugalestablished by thetreaties of TordesillasandZaragoza—in fact they lay over the line within the Portuguese area—and there was a need to establish a larger Spanish presence there as a base for trade with theSpice IslandsandChina.If possible, the goal was to extend Spanish control over theMoluccasin thePortuguese East Indies.[2][3]Villalobos was chosen for the command because he wasrelatedto De Mendozaby marriage.[2]

Villalobos's fleet of six ships leftBarra de Navidad,Jalisco,in New Spain (nowMexico) with 370–400 men on 1 November 1542:[2]

  • His flagship (capitana) was theSantiagoof 150–200toneladas,formerly owned byJuan Rodríguez Cabrillo.He chose Gaspar Rico as the expedition's chiefpilot(piloto mayor).[4]
  • The second ship—the fleet'salmiranta—was the 120-toneladagalleonSan Jorge,equipped with acutwater(espolón) and under the command ofBernardo de la Torreand his pilot Alonso Fernández Tarifeño.[4]
  • The third ship of 90–100toneladasis variously referenced as theSan Anton,theSan Antonio,theSan Felipe,and theSiete Galigos( "SevenGreyhounds"). It was captained by Francisco Merino and piloted by Francisco Ruiz.[4]
  • The fourth ship of 70toneladaswas theSan Juan de Letránunder Alonso Manrique, piloted byGinés de Mafra,[4]who had been a member of the 1519–1522Magellan expedition.
  • The fifth was thegalleySan Cristóbalunder Pedro Ortíz de Rueda, piloted by Antonio Corço and powered by sails and 20 pairs of oars.[4]
  • The last was thefustaSan Martínunder Juan Martel, piloted by Cristóbal de Pareja and powered by sails and 14 pairs of oars.[4][a]

The large number of passengers included a unit of soldiers and a number of gentlemen, who broughtblack slavesand about 40Indianmen and women as servants.[4]Martín de Islares acted asfactorand interpreter;Guido de Lavezaris,latergovernorof thePhilippines,as treasurer;Maestre Anes( "Master Hans" ), previously part of both theMagellanandLoaísa expeditions,as chief gunner; and Gerónimo de Santisteban as head of the voyage's clergy, which included 3 otherAugustinianpriestsand 4 or 5deacons.[4]

The fleet first encountered theRevilla Gigedo Islandsoff the west coast of Mexico, among which the sighting ofRoca Partidawas reported for the first time. On 26 December 1542 they sighted a group of islands in theMarshallsthat they called the Corals (Corales), which most probably are those of theWotje Atoll.They thought these to be the Islands of the Kings (Los Reyes) previously charted byÁlvaro de Saavedrain his 1528 expedition. They anchored at one of the islets, which they named San or Santo Esteban ( "St. Stephen" ).[2]They left on 6 January 1543 and that same day they sighted several small islands on the same latitude as the Corals, which they named theGarden Islands(Los Jardines),[2]now theKwajalein Atoll.On 23 January 1543,[2]the expedition foundFaisin theCarolines,which they charted as the Sailors (Matelotes).[b]On 26 January 1543, they charted some new islands as the Reefs (Los Arrecifes) which have since been identified as theYaps,also part of theCarolines.[5][6]

According toSpate,Villalobos's crew included thepilotJuan Gaetan, credited byLa Perousefor the discovery of Hawaii.[7]Gaetan's voyage was described in similar terms in 1753 with the same sequence of islands and no identification of any others known by the time of the account.[8]In 1825, the Portuguese geographer Casado Giraldes stated that the "Sandwich Islands" —i.e. the Hawaiian Islands—were discovered by Gaetan in 1542 and did not even mentionJames Cook.[9]

From 6–23 January 1543, the galleySan Cristóbal—now piloted by De Mafra—was separated from the other ships after a severe storm. It eventually reached the island of Mazaua, where Magellan had anchored in 1521.

Although he was attempting to reachCebu,Villalobos ignored the advice of his pilot to lead the ships north ofMindanao.[3]Instead, on 2 February, the fleet reached northeasternMindanao,exposed to the weather coming from the open ocean and separated from anyChineseorMalaytraders.[10]Stuck in place, they repaired their ships after the voyage.[2]Bernardo de la Torre[11]or Villalobos[10]namedMindanaoCesarea Karoli(Latin:Caesarea Caroli) in honor of theHabsburgemperorCharles V,who was alsoking of Spainas Carlos I. They resorted to eatinggrubs,unknown plants,land crabsthat sickened the crew, and aphosphorescentgray lizard which killed most of those who ate it.[10]After several days, they reachedSarangani,where they lost six men while raiding a local village for supplies. During this period, eitherBernardo de la Torre[12][13]or Villalobos[10]namedLeyteandSamarthe Philippines (Felipinas) in honor of Charles's son thecrown princePhilip(later King PhilipII).

On 7 August a Portuguese ship arrived with a letter from Jorge de Castro, governor of theMoluccas.De Castro demanded an explanation for the presence of the Spaniards in Portuguese territory, in response to which Villalobos drafted a letter dated 9 August. His letter repeated the Spanish claims to the islands, saying they were within the Demarcation Line of theCrown of Castileunder the relevant treaties.[14]

On 27 August theSan Juanleft for New Spain under De la Torre, directed to explain the expedition's difficulties and request additional supplies and reinforcements. A second letter from De Castro arrived in the first week of September; Villalobos's reply dated 12 September repeated the same claims as before. TheSan Juan—having passed theVolcano Islandsand possibly theBoninswithout being able to replenish its water—returned in mid-October without completing its mission.[c](No attempt to cross the Pacific from west to east would be successful for another two decades.) Villalobos again attempted to depart for Cebu[10]with theSan JuanandSan Cristóbal,but again failed to make headway against unfavorable winds. The natives refused to provide any supplies even for sail, fearing Portuguese retribution.[10]

De la Torre having died, theSan Juanwas refitted for another attempt to reach New Spain underYñigo Ortiz de Retezusing a southerly route instead.[10]This left on 16 May 1545 and hugged the coast ofNew Guinea—which Ortiz de Retez named—until 12 August, when the ship was forced to turn back once again.[10]It reachedTidorein October.[10]Repulsed by hunger, hostile natives, and further shipwreck, Villalobos finally abandoned the remaining goals of the expedition. He and his crew members sought refuge in theMoluccasbut, quarrelling with the Portuguese, were imprisoned.

Villalobos died of atropical feveronGood Friday23 April 1546,[10]in his prison cell onAmbon Island.The Portuguese described him dying "of a broken heart".[17]Popular legend made his deathbed nurse theJesuitmissionaryand latersaintFrancis Xavier.[2][10]

Some 117 of the crew survived, including De Mafra, Juan Gaetan, andGuido de Lavezaris.Juan Gaetan's account of the Villalobos voyage was published in 1550–1559 byGiovanni Battista Ramusio,an Italian historian, in hisNavigations and Travels(Navigationi et Viaggi).[18]De Mafra produced a manuscript onMagellan's voyageand had this delivered to Spain by a friend. Thirty—including De Mafra—elected to remain instead. His manuscript remained unrecognized for many centuries until being rediscovered in the early 20th century. The survivors who had left Spain or Portugal and returned home were individuallycircumnavigatorsof the world, although the expedition itself did not accomplish that.

The inaccurate accounts of Villalobos and his men led Spain to believe that the Pacific was much smaller than it actually was for the rest of the 16th century.[19]

Notes

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  1. ^At some places in the surviving accounts, the nameSantiagois also used for both theSan Cristóbaland theSan Martín.Similarly, theSan Martínis sometimes confused with theSan Cristóbal.[4]
  2. ^Quite surprisingly for the Spaniards, upon their arrival to Fais the local people approached the ships in canoes making the sign of the cross and saying "Buenos días, matelotes!"(" Good day, sailors! ") inSpanishorPortuguese,probably due to missionaries sent byAntónio Galvão.[3]
  3. ^Villalobos is sometimes—entirely incorrectly—credited with the discovery ofIwo Jima,the otherVolcano Islands,and/or theBonin Islands[15][16]but was not part of theSan Juan's voyage.

References

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Citations

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  1. ^Shaw.
  2. ^abcdefghDunmore (1991),s.v. "Villalobos".
  3. ^abcSpate (1979),p.97.
  4. ^abcdefghiKelsey (2016),p. 63.
  5. ^Coello (1885),pp. 82–87.
  6. ^Sharp (1960),pp. 26 & 29.
  7. ^Spate (1979).
  8. ^De Hondt (1753).
  9. ^Giraldes (1825),p. 26.
  10. ^abcdefghijkSpate (1979),p.98.
  11. ^Villamor & al. (1920),p.260.
  12. ^Agoncillo & al. (1975),p. 78.
  13. ^Nuval & al. (1986),p. 18.
  14. ^Scott (1985),p. 51.
  15. ^Cholmondeley (1915),p. 5.
  16. ^Dobson (1998).
  17. ^Scott (1985),p. 54.
  18. ^Quanchi (2005),p. 247.
  19. ^Spate (1979),p.100.

Bibliography

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  • Agoncillo, Teodoro A.; et al. (1975),History of the Filipino People,Quezon City: R.P. Garcia.
  • Bernad, Miguel Anselmo (2004),The Great Island—Studies in the Exploration and Evangelization of Mindanao,Ateneo University Press,ISBN9789715504690.
  • Blair, Emma Helen, ed. (1903).The Philippine Islands, 1493-1803, Volume 02 of 55, 1521-1569.The Arthur H. Clark Company.
  • Cholmondeley, Lionel Berners (1915),The History of the Bonin Islands...,London: Constable & Co.
  • Coello, Francisco (1885),La Cuestión de las Carolinas: Discursos Pronunciados en la Sociedad Geográfica de Madrid...(in Spanish), Madrid: Imprenta Fontanet.
  • De Hondt, Peter (1753),Histoire Generale des Voyages...(in French), vol. 16.
  • Dobson, Sebastian (June 1998),"A Chronology of the Bonin Islands",Nihongo Kenkyu Sentaa Hokoku[Reports of the Japanese Language Research Center],vol. 6, p. 21.
  • Dunmore, John (1991),Who's Who in Pacific Navigation,Honolulu: University of Hawaiʻi Press,ISBN9780824883942.
  • Giraldes, Joaquim Casado (1825),Tratado Completo de Cosmographia e Geographia(in Portuguese), vol. 1.
  • Kelsey, Harry (1986)."Finding the Way Home: Spanish Exploration of the Round-Trip Route across the Pacific Ocean".The Western Historical Quarterly.17(2): 145–164.doi:10.2307/969278.ISSN0043-3810.JSTOR969278.
  • Kelsey, Harry (2016),The First Circumnavigators: Unsung Heroes of the Age of Discovery,New Haven: Yale University Press.
  • Noone, Martin J. (1986).The discovery and conquest of the Philippines: 1521 - 1581.General history of the Philippines. Manila: Historical Conservation Society.ISBN978-971-10-2410-9.
  • Nuval, Leonard Q.; et al. (1986),The Claretians in the Philippines, 1946–1986,Claret Seminary Foundation.
  • Quanchi, Max (2005),Historical Dictionary of the Discovery and Exploration of the Pacific Islands,Scarecrow Press,ISBN0810853957.
  • Scott, William Henry (1985),Cracks in the Parchment Curtain,New Day Publishers,ISBN971-10-0073-3.
  • Sharp, Andrew (1960),The Discovery of the Pacific Islands,Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Shaw, Carlos Martinez."Ruy Lopez de Villalobos".Real Academia de la Historia(in Spanish).
  • Spate, Oskar Hermann Khristian (1979),The Spanish Lake,Canberra: Australian National University Press,ISBN9781920942168.
  • Villamor, Ignacio; et al., eds. (1920),Census of the Philippine Islands...,Vol. I:Geography, History, and Climatology,Manila: Census Office of the Philippine Islands.
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