Jacinto Caamaño

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Jacinto Caamaño Moraleja (* 1759 in Madrid , Spain ; † 1825 ?) Was an explorer and the leader of the last great Spanish voyage of discovery of Alaska (then Russian America ) and the coast of British Columbia . He was a knight of the Order of Calatrava and came from an aristocratic family in Galicia , whose hometown was near Santiago de Compostela . His father was Juan Fernández de Caamaño and his mother Mariana Moraleja Alocen. He served in the Armada Española at the age of 18 ; two years later he was promoted to (Alférez de navio).

Explorations

A few years later he took part in a political and commercial trip to Constantinople to establish business relationships with Turkey , Poland and Russia . After a brief trip to Cuba in 1787, he was chosen by Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra to visit the Pacific Coast of Mexico and the San Blas Naval Base , the headquarters for exploration of the Pacific Northwest . At the time he was a frigate lieutenant (Teniente de Fragata). With him traveled his brother-in-law Francisco de Eliza , who stood out as governor of Fort San Miguel on Vancouver Island , Nootka Sound . Don Juan Vicente de Güemes Padilla Horcasitas y Aguayo, the newly named Viceroy of New Spain, was also on board her ship on the way to Mexico . On February 3, 1790, Caamaño took part in an expedition to the Pacific Northwest. He was in command of the 189 ton frigate Nuestra Señora del Rosario (also known as La Princesa ), built in San Blas to explore the north. On this voyage he did not sail outside of Nootka, but in 1792 he got as far as Bucareli Bay with the guidance of the Aránzazu , a corvette built in Cavite in the Philippines . At that time he was promoted to ship lieutenant (Teniente de Navío). On this expedition the coast from Bucareli to Nootka was explored. The map of Alaska and British Columbia was marked with many names that still exist today. On June 13th, Caamaño sailed from Nootka to explore Bucareli Bay, off Prince-of-Wales-Island (Alaska) and anchored in Dixon Entrance on July 20th. He then sailed south through the Principe Channel, Nepean Sound, Whale Sound, near Estevan Group ( Archipelago ), then into the Caamaño Sound and south through the Laredo Channel between Aristazabal Island and Princess Royal Island. He returned to Nootka on September 7, 1792. He named Principe Channel, Laredo Channel, Campania Island, Campania Sound, Aristazabal Island, and Gil Island after his name. George Vancouver put these names on his map.

Later career and family

After the successfully completed trip to Alaska, Caamaño was sent across the Pacific Ocean to the Philippines after a short stay in San Blas. From 1794 to 1807 he served at several bases between Mexico and Peru. On one of these trips Caamaño married the Ecuadorian Francisca de Arteta Santistevan, with whom he had eight children. In 1820 he was still living in Guayaquil , the birthplace of his youngest daughter. Nothing is known of the date and place of his death. Some of his descendants lived in Ecuador . Most notable is his grandson Jose Placido Caamaño who became President of the Republic of Ecuador.

heritage

Camano Island , an island in Puget Sound , was named after him, like Caamaño Sound in British Columbia, in honor of Jacinto Caamaño. Other Spanish names in the immediate vicinity of Caamaño Sound include Campania Sound, Estevan Point, and Aristazabal Island. The Caamaño Passage is also named after him.

credentials

  • Henry R. Wagner: The Journal of Jacinto Caamaño. In: British Columbia Historical Quarterly . 2 (3), pp. 189-222 and 2 (4), pp. 265-300.
  • Henry R. Wagner: Northwest Coast. Pp. 233-235.
  • Derek Hayes: Historical Atlas of the Pacific Northwest. Sasquatch Books, Seattle 1999, ISBN 1-570-61215-3 , p. 76.
  • Raymond Howgego: Encyclopedia of Exploration. I, C1, p. 167.
  • Kathleen E Dalzell: The Queen Charlotte Islands. Vol. 2: Places and Names. Cove Press, 1973, ISBN 0-88894-313-X .

Footnotes

  1. ^ Spanish Place Names on the Face of Alaska , ExploreNorth.com
  2. ↑ Gil Island  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , BCGNIS@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / ilmbwww.gov.bc.ca  
  3. ↑ Biography of JOSÉ MARÍA PLÁCIDO CAAMAÑO
  4. ↑ Caamaño Sound . In: BC Geographical Names (English)
  5. ↑ Caamaño Passage . In: BC Geographical Names (English)
personal data
SURNAME Caamaño, Jacinto
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Caamaño Moraleja, Jacinto (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Spanish explorer
DATE OF BIRTH 1759
PLACE OF BIRTH Spain , Madrid
DATE OF DEATH after 1820