Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo

 Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo Lexile 1010 Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo was a great leader, resourceful tradesman, and an important explorer from Spain. Cabrillo was the first European explorer to navigate the coast of California. In addition, he was the first European to set foot on the land of what is now known as California. There are n o pictures or portraits of Juan Cabrillo, but an artist’s drawing shows what he may have looked like based on the looks of a typical Spaniard. No one knows for sure when Cabrillo was born, but many believe he was probably born in 1500. Little is known about his early life. Historians do know that in 1519 he sailed with another famous explorer, Hernan Cortes, to Mexico and Central America. It was here that Cabrillo fought in battles against the native people of Mexico, known as the Aztecs. After Cabrillo and his men defeated the Aztec people, he continued south to Guatemala and explored this Central American country. He loved it there and interacted with many native people. He helped other European explorers discover many new lands in this region. He also showed the Guatemalans all the wonderful things about his culture, like his religion, his clothes, and his language. By the mid-­‐1530’s, Cabrillo had proved himself to be a very important person in Guatemala and to the people of that country. He imported and exported goods between Spain and Guatemala. They traded spices, jewelry and food. Cabrillo enjoyed Guatemala. He traveled back to Spain, got married, and brought his wife back to Guatemala to continue to his explorations in other areas in North America. By 1542, Cabrillo proved himself as a great leader and excellent tradesman. He led an expedition to explore what is now the west coast of the United States. He also proved California wasn’t an island, like other explorers had thought. He hoped to find wealthy cities so he could send gold and riches back to Spain. He wanted to show everyone he was able to lead expeditions with success by taking gold from the native people and giving it to the King and Queen of Spain. The more gold he could send back, the more people would admire him. 4 ELA Unit 3 Explorer Juan Cabrillo Lexile 1010 (SC) Page 1 In 1542, Cabrillo found an excellent harbor on the California coast. He named the harbor “San Miguel”. Later that name was changed to San Diego Bay by Sebastian Vizcaino. Another goal of Cabrillo while he was in California was to find a river passage from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean so that travel and trade would be easier for European explorers. Since there is no river passage between these oceans, he became very frustrated in Without Cabrillo’s explorations and discoveries, future explorers would have a harder time landing, meeting native p eople, and establishing trade routes. is efforts! Cabrillo died January 3, 1543, from complications of a broken leg he got during a fight with some native people on San Miguel Island. No one is sure where he is buried, but some think he was buried on Catalina Island, which is part of the Channel Islands He was so important to San Diego that he has a National Monument built and named after him. 4 ELA Unit 3 Explorer Juan Cabrillo Lexile 1010 (SC) Page 2