Alessandro Malaspina di Mulazzo

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Alessandro Malaspina on an undated painting from the 19th century by an unknown painter
The picture shows the route of the Corvette "Descubierta" commanded by Malaspina during the expedition
Alessandro Malaspina on an undated painting from the 19th century by José María Galván y Candela

Alessandro Malaspina di Mulazzo (born November 5, 1754 in Mulazzo in Tuscany, † April 9, 1810 in Pontremoli ) was an Italian nobleman and seafarer in the Spanish service. He came from the Malaspina family , a branch of the Este family .

Life

From September 15, 1786 to May 18, 1788, Malaspina undertook a commercial circumnavigation of the world. During this voyage he commanded the frigate Astrea .

From 1789 to 1794 he led the first large Spanish research expedition to the Pacific with the corvette Descubierta . The coast from Patagonia to Alaska has been explored. Expeditions to the hinterland near the coast were also undertaken. In Yakutat Bay (Alaska) contact was made with the Tlingit , who mainly traded with competing Russians and tribes from the hinterland. Spanish scholars kept records of the customs, language, way of life, warfare and economy of this Indian tribal group. The painters Tomas de Suria and José Cardero portrayed some of them and made sketches of everyday life. The botanist Luis Née collected and described new plants for him. As another scientist, Thaddäus Haenke took part in the expedition from 1790 to 1793 .

Malaspina then sailed to New Zealand via Guam and the Philippines . His path then led him to Botany Bay in Australia and the Tonga Islands. Finally he returned to Cádiz in Spain via Peru, which was then Spanish . After his return, Malaspina fell victim to an intrigue at the Spanish royal court. His research reports disappeared in the Spanish archives and were only partially published in the 20th century. He himself was arrested. It was not until 1803 that Malaspina was released and expelled to Italy .

The largest North American glacier in Alaska, the Malaspina glacier and the sandstone formations Malaspina Galleries on the Canadian island of Gabriola, were named after Alessandro Malaspina .

Press articles

General Geographical Ephemeris, Vol. 2, October 1798: 390-391.

The monitor of 9 Fructidor (Aug. 26, 1798) gives the following news about Malespina's trip. On July 30th, 1789 two Spanish Corvettes, la Decouverte and la Subtile, the first under the command of Don Alexandre Malespina, the second under D. Joh. De Bastiamente in company with each other, sailed from Cadix. The commanders were given the chief task of taking up the coasts of America from the river de la Plata to the Horn promontory , and from this promontory to the extreme northern limit of this part of the world. On her arrival on the northwest coast of America under 59. 60. n. 61. Gr. They looked in vain for a passage into the Atlantic Sea. They concluded that the strait announced by an ancient Spanish navigator, Maldonado , existed only in his imagination, and that Cook's prophecy was principled, at least in these areas. In the beginning of the In 1792 la Subtile and a Spanish Galiote la Mexicaine united with other English ships under the command of Captain Vancouver, with the aim of recognizing and investigating the immense island groups discovered by the Admiral de Fuentes , as well as the entrance of the Juan de Fuca. The description of Captain Vancouver that has just appeared will inform us of the success of these investigations. Etches, commander of the American [English] ship La Princesse royale, found after this time that the whole western part of America from 48 ° to 57 ° north consists of a chain of islands which, at the entrance of a large inland, similar to the Baltic and Mediterranean seas. After having crossed this sea in the north direction, in a space of several hundred nautical miles, he came about 200 nautical miles from Hudson's Bay. Since the subject of his trip was purely commercial, he did not seek to explore the extreme limits of this new Mediterranean sea; but from what he has discovered it seems likely that it is connected to Hudson's Bay. More than fifty islands which he visited were all inhabited by Indian tribes of a peaceful and trade-inclined character. ─ The two Spanish Corvettes discovered a group of islands that were previously unknown to Europeans; the inhabitants are called Babacos, and you will find in their work the customs and traditions of these islanders. The Corvettes spent most of the year 1792 visiting the Marian and Philippine Islands, as well as Macau on the Chinese coast. They then passed between the Mindanao and Mountag Islands (?) [Morintay] and proceeded along the coasts of New Guinea . When they were on the other side of the equator, they passed through a bay of about 500 nautical miles, which no European ship had noticed before them. As they directed their course from this gulf to New Zealand and New Holland , those in the archipelago known as the Friendship Islands discovered the Babacos, [Vava'u] and stayed there for some time at anchor.

After a lot of other investigations in the southern oceans, they landed in Prairial JI (May 20, 1793) at Callao on the coast of Peru . They made various excursions from this haven, even as far as the Molucci [Malvinas] islands. They finally decided to enter the River de la Plata after having overcome all obstacles and all these southern latitudes of their own peril. They then sailed to Cadix and arrived in 90 days. This voyage will certainly contribute a great deal to the progress of shipping, botany and mineralogy. In addition, various experiments on gravity have been made at different latitudes in both hemispheres, which will give the opportunity to make important discoveries about the irregular shape of our globe and at the same time will serve to determine a general meter.

literature

Web links

Commons : Alessandro Malaspina  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Dario Manfredi: Il Viaggio Attorno al Mondo di Malaspina con la Fregata di SMC "Astrea", 1786–1788, Memorie della Accademia Lunigianese di Scienze, La Spezia, 1988.
  2. ^ Wiener Zeitung. May 30, 1789
  3. ↑ General Geographical Ephemeris , Vol. 2, October 1798: 390-391.
personal data
SURNAME Malaspina di Mulazzo, Alessandro
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian nobleman and sailor in Spanish service
DATE OF BIRTH November 5, 1754
PLACE OF BIRTH Mulazzo in Tuscany
DATE OF DEATH April 9, 1810
Place of death Pontremoli in Tuscany