Document Number: |
AJ-003 |
Author: |
Ascensi�n, Antonio de la |
Title: |
Brief Report of the Discovery in the South Sea |
Source: |
Bolton, Herbert Eugene (editor). Spanish Exploration in the Southwest, 1542-1706. (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1916). Pages 104-134. |
Pages/Illustrations: |
33 / 0 |
Citable URL: |
www.americanjourneys.org/aj-003/ |
Author Note
Antonio de la Ascensi�n was a priest from Seville, Spain, who in
1602 maintained a daily diary (unpublished) during the Vizca�no
expedition. He rewrote this account of the voyage from his diary
notes, October 12, 1620. Trained as a cosmographer in Seville before
becoming a priest, Ascensi�n mapped the California coast as Sebasti�n
Vizca�no pushed as far north as southern Oregon. Ascensi�n�s notes
and maps advanced and replaced information provided by Juan Rodr�quez
Cabrillo sixty years earlier (see AJ-001) and Vizca�no�s new names
for physical landmarks became established navigation aids. Vizca�no
was a merchant involved in trade between China, the Philippines
and Mexico. For more information about him see the background notes
to AJ-002.
Vizcaino Expedition of 1602-1603
The expedition left Acapulco May 5, 1602, and returned ten months
later on March 21, 1603. Two ships and a frigate set sail from Acapulco,
Mexico. At Mazatl�n, they crossed the Gulf to Cabo San Lucas and
sailed north along the western Baja California coast. On November
10, Vizca�no reached the bay that Cabrillo named San Miguel and
renamed it San Diego. The expedition spent ten days charting the
bay, then continued north. On December 14, Vizca�no arrived at a
bay he named Monterrey. Two of the three boats then sailed further
north. Vizca�no tried to turn around at Cape Mendocino, but a storm
blew his ship to Cabo Blanco in southern Oregon. On January 21,
Vizca�no�s expedition fleet finally turned south, arriving in Acapulco
on March 21, 1603.
Ascensi�n, who originally served on the expedition to minister
to the crew, also sought to convert California�s native people to
Christianity. His narrative describes in great detail the coast
and waters he surveyed, including information about climate, fish,
wild game, trees and plants, and the Native Americans living there.
His detailed recommendations consider the benefits of settlement
in California and the potential for religious conversion of Native
Americans. A short memorial from Francisco de Arellano accompanies
the report in which Ascensi�n offers to help as he can with the
conquest and settlement of the lands that his report described.
Document Note
Father Ascensi�n wrote this account of the voyage October 12, 1620,
drawing upon an unpublished diary he kept during the trip. This
account was published in Spanish in Joaquín Francisco Pacheco
and Francisco de C�rdenas, Colecci�n de Documentos In�ditos,
VIII (Madrid, 1864-1884). This English translation is published
in: Herbert Eugene Bolton, ed., Spanish Exploration in the Southwest,
1542-1706 (New York: Charles Scribner�s Sons, 1916).
Other Internet and Reference Sources
Douros, Basil S. �Early Uses of Resources.� Monterrey Bay National
Marine Sanctuary Site Characterization.
http://bonita.mbnms.nos.noaa.gov/sitechar/rechist.html
Hughart, Kathy and Bill White. Early Exploration of San Diego,
1542 to 1769 (California History & Culture Conservancy,
1999). http://historyandculture.com/chcc/explorers.html
San Diego Historical Society. �Sebasti�n Vizca�no.� San Diego
Biographies. http://www.sandiegohistory.org/bio/vizcaino/vizcaino.htm |
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