Juan Fernández (explorer)
Juan Fernández | |
---|---|
Born | c. 1536 Cartagena (Crown of Castile) |
Died | c. 1604 Santiago (Spanish Empire) |
Occupation | Explorer, navigator |
Juan Fernández (c. 1536 – c. 1604) was a
Discoveries and theories
Juan Fernández Islands
In 1574, he discovered an alternative maritime route from
New Zealand
Early historians such as
Later, the expedition set sail for Chile and Juan Fernández wished to convey his discovery to government officials. However, Juan Jufré refused. He requested that the discovery be kept a secret as the expedition had not been authorized by the Viceroy of Peru. Later, after Jufré's death in 1578, Fernández finally shared the discovery with the authorities and tried to convince them of the need to return to the islands and establish a colony. The idea was scrapped due to lack of interest. A record exists in the Spanish Admiralty libraries which describes this discovery. It was reviewed in the 19th century by the Chilean bibliographer José Toribio Medina who is one of the main sources for the claim in South American literature. A transcription of the record in question is included in an appendix Medina's book. It is a memorandum from one Dr. Arias to the King of Spain in 1621, which requested funds to convert the natives of the lands of Terra Australis. The document is primarily concerned with theoretical reasons as to why such a continent must exist, and uses the supposed discoveries of Juan Fernández to bolster his theories.[5] Medina's own opinion on the subject is that it is more likely that the islands which Fernández are those of Tahiti:
'nos parece ... se descubrieron algunas islas, entra ellas la Nueva Zelandia, o más probablemente, a nuestra ententer, las islas de Tahiti' ('it appears to us ... he discovered some islands, among others those of New Zealand, or more probably, by our understanding, the islands of Tahiti').
— José Toribio Medina, El piloto Juan Fernández, p. 169
Mainstream historians do not accept these claims.
See also
- Theory of the Portuguese discovery of Australia
- Cristóvão de Mendonça
- Explorers of the Pacific
- Explorers of Oceania
References
- ^ "Juan Fernández". Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
- ^ Herda, Phyllis. "Proof of Spanish discovery?". Te Ara. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
- ^ Brand, Donald D. (1967). The Pacific Basin: A History of its Geographical Explorations. New York: The American Geographical Society. p. 127.
- ISBN 9788496840393.
- ^ José Toribio Medina, El Piloto Juan Fernández, Santiago de Chile, 1918, reprinted by Gabriela Mistral, 1974, pp. 136, 246; Isidoro Vázquez de Acuña, "El general Juan Jufré pionero de la navegación chilena hacia el otro lado de la Cuenca del Pacífico (1575)", Derroteros de la Mar del Sur, año 12, num.12, 2005, at: derroteros.perucultural.org.pe/art12k.htm
- ^ Squires, Nick (21 March 2007). "Portuguese visited New Zealand '250 years before Cook'". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 22 March 2007.
- ^ Pontevedra, Silvia R. (4 April 2018). "Theory that New Zealand was discovered by Spain gains new traction". EL PAÍS. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
- See J. L. Arias, Memoir recommending to the king the conversion of the new discovered islands (in Spanish, 1609; Eng. trans., 1773); Ulloa, Relation del Viaje, bk. ii. ch. iv.; Alexander Dalrymple, An Historical Collection of the several Voyages and Discoveries in the South Pacific Ocean (London, 1769–1771); Freville, Voyages de la Mer du Sud par les Espagnols.
- Síntesis sobre algunos navegantes españoles transpacíficos, relacionados con el Reyno de Chile Archived 9 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine, Liga Maritima de Chile (in Spanish)
- Hooken, T. M. (1894). Some Account of the Earliest Literature and Maps relating to New Zealand, Transactions of the Royal Society of New Zealand, Volume 27, Article 71, 616–634.