200px, Map showing the September 1544 expedition led by Pastene. Giovanni Battista Pastene (1507–1580) was a Genoese maritime explorer who, while in the service of the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

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, explored the coasts of

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Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

and

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

as far south as the archipelago of Chiloé.

Early life

Juan Bautista Pastene was born in

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

. His parents were Thomas and Esmeralda Solimana Pastene. He married Geneva Seixas, with whom he had three children. He arrived in

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

in 1526, traveling in his own ship. He then came to

in 1536 to serve

Francisco Pizarro Francisco Pizarro, Marquess of the Atabillos (; ; – 26 June 1541) was a Spanish ''conquistador'', best known for his expeditions that led to the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire. Born in Trujillo, Cáceres, Trujillo, Spain, to a poor fam ...

. In 1544, and was pilot and Master of the ship ''Concepción''. He participated actively in many maritime explorations, which led to him being appointed by the Audiencia of

as a ''piloto mayor'' of the ''Mar del Sur'' (the Spanish name for the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

at the time).

Chile

King

Charles V Charles V may refer to: Kings and Emperors * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise Others * Charles V, Duke ...

ordered the exploration of southern

. This task was given by the Viceroy of Peru to Pastene, in 1543, for which he was awarded the title of ''general de la Mar del Sur''. In 1544

Pedro de Valdivia Pedro Gutiérrez de Valdivia or Valdiva (; April 17, 1497 – December 25, 1553) was a Spanish ''conquistador'' and the first royal governor of Chile. After having served with the Spanish army in Italy and Flanders, he was sent to South America in ...

entrusted exploring the coasts of the south to Pastene, ordering him to reach the

Strait of Magellan The Strait of Magellan (), also called the Straits of Magellan, is a navigable sea route in southern Chile separating mainland South America to the north and the Tierra del Fuego archipelago to the south. Considered the most important natura ...

. Although he did not reach this goal, he explored much of the coast. He was the first to arrive at Bay of Concepción, in the ship "San Pedro", and took possession of it. In 1545 Pastene went to Peru in search of aid for the new settlements in Chile, returning in 1547. He made other voyages in support of the struggling colony. In 1550, Pastene supported Valdivia's campaign into

Mapuche The Mapuche ( , ) also known as Araucanians are a group of Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging e ...

territory in what is now the

Biobío Region The Biobío Region ( ) is one of Chile's sixteen regions (first-order administrative divisions). With a population of 1.5 million, thus being the third most populated region in Chile, it is divided into three provinces: Arauco, Biobío and C ...

linking up with the

conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (; ; ) were Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia during the Age of Discovery. Sailing ...

s land expedition at Penco with his two ships on February 23, 1550. There he was present in the foundation of Concepción. He took one ship to acquire provisions at an offshore Island where seven of his crew were killed by the islanders. During the Government of García Hurtado de Mendoza, Juan Bautista Pastene made a naval reconnaissance down the coast to Chiloé. He also held the position of ''regidor'' of the city of

Santiago, Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

in 1548, 1551, 1553, 1557 and 1568, and was mayor in 1564. He was also the first Governor of

Valparaíso Valparaíso () is a major city, Communes of Chile, commune, Port, seaport, and naval base facility in the Valparaíso Region of Chile. Valparaíso was originally named after Valparaíso de Arriba, in Castilla–La Mancha, Castile-La Mancha, Spain ...

. He died in 1580 in

. The city of Capitán Pastene, formed by Italian immigrants to Chile in the early 1900, was named in his honor. He was great grandfather of the

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

chronicler

Alonso de Ovalle Fr. Alonso de Ovalle (Santiago; July 27, 1603 – Lima; May 1651) was a Chilean Jesuit priest and chronicler of Chilean history, author of the ''Historica relacion del Reyno de Chile y de las missiones y ministerios que exercita en él la Comp ...

Sources

Cartas de Pedro de Valdivia (Letters of Pedro Valdivia)
University of Chile: Diarios, Memorias y Relatos Testimoniales: (on line in Spanish)
Inicio Historia de Chile / Biografías / Juan Bautista Pastene

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pastene, Juan Bautista 1507 births 1580 deaths 16th-century Spanish explorers Spanish explorers of the Pacific Explorers of Chile Italian explorers of the Pacific Viceroyalty of Peru people Italian explorers of South America Explorers from the Republic of Genoa 16th-century Italian explorers