Navigators and discoverers
The whaling industry and closer links between the Iberian Peninsula and Western Europe led to a rise in seafaring among the inhabitants of the Basque coast, in particular in the context of the economic expansion that began at the beginning of the 15th century and continued to grow after the conquest of America.
From Columbus’s first expeditions, Basque sailors took an active part in the American campaign and were considered among the best. As well as the Basques who sailed with Columbus, and as well as building his ship the Santa Maria, we should mention Juan de la Cosa, also known as Juan Vizcaíno, the owner of the Santa Maria and an important cartographer. Cosa’s gifts as a cartographer became clear during Columbus’s third voyage (1498) when he mapped the coast of what would become Colombia and Venezuela. In 1500 he finished his map, the first of America.
We know that along with him, in addition to the numerous Basques in Columbus’s crew, there was a resident of Deba called Juan Martín Azoke, and that during his fourth voyage Columbus’ crew included sailors from Getaria. Luis de Arriaga, for example, visited Santo Domingo during Columbus’s second voyage in 1493 and in 1501 obtained from Isabel the Catholic the right to colonize the island with 200 married Vizcayans: (according to the nomenclature of the time, that is, not necessarily from Bizkaia). Although he didn’t achieve this in its entirety, various families did settle there. La Española was a base for every type of expedition and many Basques passed through there. Juan de La Cosa, Lope de Olano, Juan Martínez de Zamudio and Pedro de Arbolantxa all had interests in the island. A large number of them were traders and representatives of Basques based in Sevilla, as was Elkano in 1519.
During the conquest of Mexico, Cortés chose Juan Ochoa de Elejalde, from Leintz-Gatzaga, as sheriff when he was establishing the Mexican local authority. Martín de San Juan, a ship’s master from Irun linked to Juan de Garay, was also among their number.
It is not surprising, given the large number of Basque sailors and explorers, that some of them made a significant impact on the world of navigation and exploration. Elkano, for example, was the first person to circumnavigate the globe, after a voyage of several years. Although without a position before he joined Magellan’s expedition, had experience at sea and was part of a campaign organized by Cardinal Cisneros along the African coast. The ship in which he circumnavigated the globe in the 16th century, the Victoria, was constructed in Zarautz in 1515 and Basques were among those who survived the journey with Elkano.
On the other hand, Miguel López de Legazpi (from Zumarraga) and Andrés de Urdaneta (from Ordizia) played an important role in the Philippines (named after Felipe II). Legazpi founded Manila, the capital, in 1571. Urdaneta, thanks to earlier expeditions, had already opened in 1565 an important return route to Mexico which avoided the trade winds and took advantage of the ocean currents.
Domingo Martínez de Irala from Bergara took over the expeidition commanded by Pedro de Mendoza (founder of Buenos Aires), in 1536. When Mendoza returned to Castile, Irala was left in command and set up a local council. He struck up relations with the natives and married the daughter of the local chief. In 1554 he was named Governor of Rio de la Plata. He typified the Spanish model of colonization, in which settlers mixed with the native population, creating a new Creole society.
The adventures of Pedro de Ursua from Navarra and Lope de Agirre form Oñati are another side of the conquests and exploration of America. In search of the mythical El Dorado, their expedition involved a series of battles and alliances with indigenous populations, depending on circumstances, as well as internal struggles and alliances. Agirre was one of the people who murdered Ursua, the leader of the expedition. After he was named leader, with the help of various compatriots, Juan de Agirre among them, he named Fernando de Guzmán prince of Peru. In recognizing the new prince, he undermined Felipe II and, once Peru had been conquered, the prince rewarded him for his efforts. The reign of Don Fernando lasted five months. In the face of a possible conspiracy to murder Agirre, things came to a head. Some of the conspirators were eliminated soon after and Agirre became general and head of the expedition. However, epression led to the desertion by some of his men. When he surrendered to them, Agirre was killed with two shots and his body was mutilated.