Pedro de Unamuno

Pedro de Unamuno was a Spanish soldier and sailor, active in New Spain and Spanish East Indies, particularly Philippines, in the second half of the 16th century. He is known for commanding the galleon Nuestra Señora de la Esperanza, that in the year 1587 did the second trans-Pacific crossing from the Asian mainland to America in history, the first being the one achieved by his fellow Francisco Gali in 1584.

Trans-Pacific journey

The voyage started in Macau on July 12, 1587 and reached the Californian shore on October 18, at 35.5 degrees North latitude, where they went on shore in a bay with sandy beaches (perhaps Morro Bay) and contacted native people. Then the sailing progressed southwards along the American western coast to Acapulco, reached November 22 same year.

The main goals of the journey were to find the purported islands Rica de Oro, Rica de Plata and Armenio (which Unamuno concluded did not exist), and also the very profitable selling of Chinese goods in New Spain in fact breaking, like Gali three years earlier, the monopoly accorded by the Spanish Crown to the Manila galleon. Actually the official trade galleon of 1587 from Manila, the Santa Ana, reached the Californian coast one month later than the Esperanza just to be captured and sacked by the two pirate English ships commanded by Thomas Cavendish.

Unamuno had Alonso Gómez as pilot, a crew of Spaniards and Philippine Indios, and three Franciscan friars as passengers, namely Martín Ignacio de Loyola, Francisco de Nogueira, and a third one whose name is unknown. De Loyola brought along with him a young Japanese converted to Catholicism.

See also
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