Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo

Country he explored for: Spain

When: 1542

What was he looking for? The city of El Dorado

Where did he travel?  San Diego

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Background and Early History:

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     Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo was an explorer who traveled to California and explored there.  He was born in the year 1499.  His parents are not known.  Nobody knows if Cabrillo was from Spain or Portugal.  He either worked as a boy  for a merchant, a soldier, a sailor, a shipbuilder, a slave owner, or an author before he was an explorer.  Possibly, he added Cabrillo to his name because Juan Rodriguez was a very common name.  While Cabrillo was still young, Cabrillo joined the Spanish army that won over Cuba.  Then, in 1520, he became part of the army that was sent to Mexico by the governor of Cuba.  This army was lead by a man called Hernan Cortez.  Cortez disobeyed the governor of Cuba, and started the conquest to go to Mexico in his own way.  Cabrillo then joined Cortez, with many other soldiers.  Under Cortez, Cabrillo commanded his own group of crossbowmen.  Clearly, Cabrillo was a good man.

Cabrillo's Journey in 1542:

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     On the expedition to California, Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo got chosen to be captain of the expedition. He took three ships, Victoria, San Miguel, and San Salvador. On these ships, there were lots of people. There were four officers, twenty-five soldiers, twenty-five to thirty crewmen, two to three cabin boys, dozens of black and Indians slave, and a few merchants and clerks.

     On June 27, 1542, Cabrillo and the crew left the harbor of Navidad and sailed north to Baja, California. Cabrillo hoped to find the "Seven Golden Cities of Cibola." They spotted California on July 2, 1542. They also saw the Chumash tribe when they first landed. They explored San Diego Bay and the northern and southern California. They missed San Francisco and Monterey Bay. Cabrillo and his crew spend winter on San Miguel Island in the Santa Barbara channel. Cabrillo explored more of the southern part of California but also explored the northern part of California.      

Landing in Alta California:

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     Cabrillo made the first European voyage to the Pacific Coast of the U.S. He wanted to find famous rich towns that everyone was looking for and a water passage that connects the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean. Cabrillo first discovered a good port in San Diego Bay and Monterey Bay. He then sailed around the small Channel Islands off Alta California’s coast a lot. They were the present-day Santa Cruz, San Clemente, and San Catalina islands. He also traveled all the way to present-day Oregon, exploring Alta California’s coast along the way.

Cabrillo's Death:

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     In the year 1540 on Christmas day, Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo sailed from Acautla, El Salvador to Navidad, Mexico.  He had two ships with him, the San Salvador and the Victoria.  When they lThey were immedietly under siege by hostile indians.  Cabrillo was killed when his horse fell on him.  

What Cabrillo Accomplished:

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Juan Cabrillo started his expedition on June 27, 1542 with three ships: San Salvador, La Victoria, and San Miguel.  He left from the city of Navidad in New Spain which is now called Mexico.  He sailed north along the Baja Peninsula.  In fact he was the first European to sail the entire length of the Baja Peninsula.  On September 28^th he landed in what is now San Diego and named it San Miguel after his ship.  A little more than a week later he landed on Santa Catalina Island and named it San Salvador after another one of his ships.  A short time later he landed at what is today called San Clemente and named it Victoria after his third ship.

Cabrillo continued north and stopped at a number of places that are famous today; for example, San Pedro Bay, Santa Monica Bay, Anacapa Island, Point Conception, Cuyler Harbor on San Miguel Island and Point Reyes.  He made it as far north as the Russian River but never saw the entrance to San Francisco Bay.  When he got to the Russian River the autumn winds came in and he had to turn back.

When he was exploring he met many tribes including the Kumeyaay, Chumash and Diegueno.  The Indians and the Spanish were scared of each other. The Indians were scared of the explorers and showered them with arrows.  They did this because they learned of Europeans from Coronado’s interior expedition.  Coronado was looking for gold in Arizona.  He did not find much and he was cruel to the natives along the way.  Cabrillo was not seeking gold and he was not cruel to the Indians.  He was simply exploring and writing a report for future explorers to use.  Eventually Cabrillo and the Indians got along better after they learned they had nothing to fear.