Bruno de Heceta (Hezeta) y Dudagoitia (1743–1807) was a Spanish
Basque
Basque may refer to:
* Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France
* Basque language, their language
Places
* Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France
* Basque Country (autonomous co ...
explorer of the
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Tho ...
. Born in
Bilbao
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of an old Basque family, he was sent by the
Viceroy
A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning " ...
of
New Spain,
Antonio María Bucareli y Ursúa
Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular mal ...
, to explore the area north of
Alta California in response to information that there were
colonial Russian settlements there.
Background
The Spanish claim to Alaska and the Pacific Northwest had dated back to the 1493
papal bull (''
Inter caetera
''Inter caetera'' ('Among other orks) was a papal bull issued by Pope Alexander VI on the 4 May () 1493, which granted to the Catholic Monarchs King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile all lands to the "west and south" of ...
'') and rights contained in the 1494
Treaty of Tordesillas. These two formal acts formed the basis of Spain's claim of the exclusive right to colonize all of the Western Hemisphere (excluding present-day Brazil), including all of the
west coast of North America. The first European expedition to actually reach the Pacific coast was led by the Spaniard
Vasco Núñez de Balboa
Vasco Núñez de Balboa (; c. 1475around January 12–21, 1519) was a Spanish explorer, governor, and conquistador. He is best known for having crossed the Isthmus of Panama to the Pacific Ocean in 1513, becoming the first European to lead an ...
, which reached the western coast of present-day
Panama
Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...
in 1513. Balboa claimed the
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...
for the Spanish Crown, as well as all the lands touching it. This action of Balboa further solidified the Spanish claim of exclusive control over the entire west coast of North America.
Confident of their claims, the Spanish Empire did not explore or settle the northwest coast of North America in the 250 years after Balboa's claim. By the late 18th century, however, learning of
Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
and
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
arrivals along the
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Tho ...
and Alaskan coasts, Spain finally grew sufficiently concerned about their claims to the region and set out the extent of any Russian or British encroachment.
Pacific expedition
A first expedition led by
Juan José Pérez Hernández
Juan José Pérez Hernández (born Joan Perés c. 1725 – November 3, 1775), often simply Juan Pérez, was an 18th-century Spanish explorer. He was the first known European to sight, examine, name, and record the islands near present-day Br ...
in 1774 with just one ship, the frigate ''Santiago'' (alias ''Nueva Galicia''
), did not reach as far north as planned. Thus in 1775, when a small group of officers from Spain reached the Pacific port of
San Blas in the Viceroyalty of New Spain (present day
México
Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatem ...
), the viceroy placed one of them, Bruno de Heceta, in charge of a second expedition. This expedition was to have two ships, with the second a smaller ship that could explore in shallower waters.
Heceta was given command of the ''Santiago''. Accompanying Heceta was the
schooner ''Sonora'' (alias ''Felicidad'',
also known as ''Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe'') initially under the command of
Juan Manuel de Ayala. The
''Sonora'', with a crew of 16, was to perform coastal reconnaissance and mapping, and could make landfall in places the larger ''Santiago'' was unable to approach on its previous voyage. In this way the expedition could officially lay claim to the lands of northern New Spain it visited.
The two ships sailed together as far north as ''Punta de los Martires'' (or "Point of the Martyrs"), present day
Point Grenville in the U.S. state of
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
, named by Heceta in response to an attack by the local
Quinault Native Americans.
By design, the vessels parted company on the evening of July 30, 1775, with the ''Santiago'' continuing north, to what is today the border between Washington and
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. The ''Señora'', with second officer
Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra
Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra (22 May 1743 – 26 March 1794) was a Spanish Criollo naval officer operating in the Americas. Assigned to the Pacific coast Spanish Naval Department base at San Blas, in Viceroyalty of New Spain (present ...
at the helm, following its orders continuing further north up the coast, ultimately reaching a position at
latitude 59° north on August 15, 1775, entering
Sitka Sound near the present-day town of
Sitka, Alaska. There, and near a Russian settlement on present day
Kodiak Island
Kodiak Island ( Alutiiq: ''Qikertaq''), is a large island on the south coast of the U.S. state of Alaska, separated from the Alaska mainland by the Shelikof Strait. The largest island in the Kodiak Archipelago, Kodiak Island is the second la ...
, the Spaniards performed numerous "acts of
sovereignty
Sovereignty is the defining authority within individual consciousness, social construct, or territory. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within the state, as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the perso ...
" claiming the territory. Bodega y Quadra named ''Puerto de Bucareli'' (present-day
Bucareli Bay, Alaska), ''Puerto de los Remedios'', and ''Cerro San Jacinto'', which was renamed
Mount Edgecumbe three years later in 1778 by English explorer
James Cook.
On his return journey south, still with only the larger ''Santiago'' and a reduced crew, Heceta discovered a large bay penetrating far inland. He was the first European to sight the mouth of the
Columbia River. He tried to sail in but the strong currents prevented it, even under a full press of sails. His crew was so reduced that they could not handle the anchor so he could not easily wait for better conditions. He wrote that the seething currents led him to believe it was the mouth of a great river or a passage to another sea. Later he guessed it to be the
Strait of Juan de Fuca
The Strait of Juan de Fuca (officially named Juan de Fuca Strait in Canada) is a body of water about long that is the Salish Sea's outlet to the Pacific Ocean. The international boundary between Canada and the United States runs down the centre ...
. He named the entrance bay ''Bahia de la Asunción'' and produced a map of what he could discern from outside the
Columbia Bar. Later Spanish maps often showed the Columbia River's estuary with the name ''Entrada de Hezeta'', ''Rio de San Roque'', and other similar variants.
Throughout the voyage, the crews of both vessels endured many hardships, including food shortages and scurvy. On September 8, 1775, the ships rejoined and headed south for the return trip to San Blas.
Later years
Subsequently, Heceta returned to Spain, fighting in various naval battles against
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
and
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...
in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
. He died there in 1807 with the rank of the
lieutenant general
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
.
Legacy
Heceta Island in Alaska, and
Heceta Head
Heceta Head ( ) is a headland that stands above the Pacific Ocean in Lane County, Oregon, United States. The Heceta Head Light is located on its south side. Heceta Head is named after a Basque explorer under Spanish commission, Bruno de Heceta ...
and the
Heceta Head Light on the
Oregon Coast
The Oregon Coast is a coastal region of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to its west and the Oregon Coast Range to the east, and stretches approximately from the California state border in the south to the Columbia ...
, are named after him.
In Oregon it is pronounced "Ha–SEE–Ta" and in Alaska it is pronounced "HECK–ah–Ta."
See also
*
Spanish expeditions to the Pacific Northwest
References
Further reading
#''For Honor & Country: The Diary of Bruno De Hezeta'', by Herbert K. Beals, Published in 1985 by the Oregon Historical Society. .
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heceta Y Dudagoitia, Bruno De
Spanish explorers of North America
Explorers of Alaska
Explorers of Oregon
Basque explorers
18th-century explorers
People of New Spain
1743 births
1807 deaths
People from Bilbao
18th-century Spanish people
19th-century Spanish people
Spanish history in the Pacific Northwest
Explorers of Washington (state)