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{
The voyages sponsored by Hernán
Cortés failed to reveal much of Califor-
nia’s coastline to Spanish explorers, but
curiosity about what lay to the north guaran-
teed that new attempts would be made. One of
the endeavor’s most enthusiastic sponsors was
Cortés’s political rival, Antonio de Mendoza,
viceroy of New Spain. Mendoza’s choice to lead
an expedition north was Juan Rodríguez
Cabrillo, a Spanish shipbuilder—he is some-
times identified as being Portuguese—who had
fought as a conquistador in the conquests of
Cuba, Mexico, and Central America.
Neglect and secrecy have left few surviving
or dependable firsthand accounts of the earli-
est European voyages up California’s coast.
Cabrillo’s voyage is no exception, but the basic
facts are known. On June 27, 1542, Cabrillo’s
well-equipped fleet set sail from the tiny Mex-
ican port of Navidad, near Manzanillo on
Mexico’s west-central coast. Cabrillo made
better progress than his predecessors in sail-
ing up the westerncoast of Baja, or Lower,
California. Exactly three months after leavingMexico, he sailed into a harbor that he
described in his log as “sheltered and very
good.” Cabrillo stepped ashore, claimed the
land for Spain, and christened the area San
Miguel in honor of the archangel Michael, on
whose September 28 Christian feast day the
Spaniards landed. It would later be called San
Diego.THE BAY OF SMOKES
At San Diego Cabrillo’s men were met by local
Indians, the Ipai. Wordof Francisco Vázquez
de Coronado’s expedition (1540–42) hundreds
of miles inland had reached the coastal tribes.
Cabrillo’s log noted that the Ipai had heard
that “in the interior men like us were traveling
about, bearded, clothed, and armed like those
of the ships. They made signs that they carried
crossbows and swords; and they made ges-
tures with the right arm as if they were throw-
ing lances, and ran around as if they were on
horseback. They made signs that they [Coron-
ado’s men] were killing many native Indians,120