Everything about Bruno De Heceta totally explained
Bruno de Heceta (Hezeta) y Dudagoitia (
1744-
1807) was a
Spanish explorer of the
Pacific Northwest. Born in
Bilbao, he was sent by the
viceroy of
New Spain,
Antonio María Bucareli y Ursúa, to explore the area north of
Alta California in response to rumors that there were
Russian settlements there.
Background
The Spanish claim to Alaska and the Pacific Northwest had dated back to a 1493 papal bull (
Inter caetera) and rights contained in the 1494
Treaty of Tordesillas; these two formal acts gave Spain the exclusive rights to colonize all of the Western Hemisphere (excluding Brazil), including the exclusive rights to colonize all of the
the west coast of North America. The first European expedition to actually reach the west coast of North America was led by the Spaniard
Vasco Núñez de Balboa, which achieved the Pacific coast of
Panama in 1513. Balboa claimed the
Pacific Ocean for the Spanish Crown, as well as the lands touching it, including all of the west coast of North America. This action of Balboa further solidified the Spanish claim of exclusive control over the entire west coast of North America.
Confident of their claims, the Spanish Empire didn't explore or settle the northwest coast of North America in the 250 years after Balboa's claim. By the late 1700s, however, learning of
Russian Empire and
British arrivals along the Pacific coast, Spain finally grew sufficiently concerned about their claims to the Pacific Northwest and set out to learn the extent of the Russian and British encroachment.
Exploring expedition
A first expedition (with just one ship, a frigate) led by
Juan José Pérez Hernández in
1774 didn't reach as far north as planned. Thus, when a small group of officials from Spain reached the naval base of
San Blas,
México, the viceroy placed one of these, Heceta, in charge of a second expedition; this second expedition was to have two ships, including one smaller ship that could explore in shallower waters.
Accompanying Heceta was the escort and supply ship
Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe (generally known as the
Señora), initially under the command of
Juan Manuel de Ayala. The 37 foot (11 m)
schooner and its crew complement of 16 were to perform coastal reconnaissance and mapping, and could make landfall in places the larger
Santiago was unable to approach on its previous voyage; in this way, the expedition could officially lay claim to the lands north of Mexico it visited.
The two ships sailed together as far north as
Point Grenville, Washington, named
Punta de los Martires (or "Point of the Martyrs") by Hezeta in response to an attack by the local
Quinault Indians.
He was the first European to sight the mouth of the
Columbia River. On his return journey south, with only the
Santiago and a reduced crew, Heceta discovered a large bay penetrating far inland. He tried to sail in but the strong currents prevented it, even under a full press of sails. His crew was so reduced that they couldn't handle the anchor so he couldn't easily wait for better conditions. He wrote that the seething currents led him to believe it was the mouth of a great river or a passage to another sea. Later he guessed it to be the
Strait of Juan de Fuca. He named the entrance bay
Bahia de la Asunciõn and produced a map of what he could discern from outside the
Columbia Bar. Later Spanish maps often showed the Columbia River's estuary with the name
Entrada de Hezeta,
Rio de San Roque, and similar variants.
By design, the vessels parted company on the evening of
July 30, 1775 with the
Santiago continuing to what is today the border between Washington state and
Canada. The
Señora (now with second officer
Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra at the helm) moved up the coast according to its orders, ultimately reaching a position at Latitude 59° North on
August 15, entering
Sitka Sound near the present-day town of
Sitka, Alaska. It is there that the Spaniards performed numerous "acts of
sovereignty," naming and claiming Puerto de Bucareli (
Bucareli Sound), Puerto de los Remedios, and Mount San Jacinto, renamed
Mount Edgecumbe by
British explorer
James Cook three years later.
Throughout the voyage, the crews of both vessels endured many hardships, including food shortages and scurvy. On
September 8, the ships rejoined and headed south for the return trip to San Blas.
Subsequently, Heceta returned to
Europe, fighting in various naval battles against
France and
Great Britain. He died in
1807 with the rank of the
lieutenant general.
Heceta Head, on the coast of
Oregon, is named after him. It is the location of the
Heceta Head Light.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Bruno De Heceta'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://bruno_de_heceta.totallyexplained.com">Bruno de Heceta Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
