Gabriel de Castilla

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Gabriel de Castilla (* 1577 in Palencia , Spain , † 1620 in Lima , Peru ) was a Spanish navigator .

Potential discoveries

Southern Ocean

In 1603 Castilla was sent south from Valparaíso with three ships to contain enemy incursions by Dutch privateers in the southern seas of Chile . Castilla got into southern waters (64 ° S) on the other side of Drake Street . After Castilla, James Cook did not advance again until 1773 with 71 ° in even more southern regions. Castilla would be the first seafarer to reach the Southern Ocean .

South Shetland Islands

In the course of this expedition he is said to have also made land, Castilla is therefore also one of the potential explorers of the South Shetland Islands and could thus be the first European to have discovered a land mass that belongs to the Antarctic continent . Dirk Gerritz could have identified the same archipelago as early as 1599, but its discovery is also in doubt.

Namesake

The Spanish research station " Gabriel de Castilla " on Deception Island in the archipelago of the South Shetland Islands is named after him . The station is only operated in summer and was opened in the Antarctic summer of 1989/90. He is also the namesake of the Paso De Castilla strait off the Danco coast of Graham Land on the Antarctic Peninsula

bibliography

personal data
SURNAME Castilla, Gabriel de
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Spanish navigator
DATE OF BIRTH 1577
PLACE OF BIRTH Palencia
DATE OF DEATH 1620
Place of death Lima