Augustinian, born at Villafranca, Guipúzcoa, Spain, 1498; died
in the City of Mexico, 1568.
He had studied Latin and philosophy, but having been left an orphan resolved to devote
himself to military life, and in the Italian wars obtained the rank of captain.
Returning to Spain he took up the study of mathematics and astronomy, which gave him an
inclination for a seafaring life, and induced him to accompany Jofre de Loaiza in an
expedition to the Molucca Islands in 1525. He served there for eleven years. On his return
to Europe he landed in Lisbon, where he was prosecuted by the Portuguese Government for
having told the story of his voyage to the islands when he passed through New Spain.
Charles V did not give him a very favourable reception, and, wearied by his many
adventures, he returned to the City of Mexico and entered the Augustinian Order.
At the death of the viceroy, D. Luis de Velasco, in 1564, New Spain had passed under the
government of the Audiencia, one of whose first cares was to equip an expedition for the
conquest and colonization of the Philippine Islands. This had been ordered by Philip II in
1559, Fray Andrés de Urdaneta having been designated as the commander, and the viceroy
had the matter under consideration at the time of his death. Urdaneta was considered a
great navigator, and especially fitted for cruising in Indian waters. Philip II wrote
urging him to join the expedition, and offering him the command. Urdaneta agreed to
accompany the expedition but refused to take command, and the adelantado, Don Miguel
López de Legazpi, was appointed commander. The expedition, composed of the
"Capitana", which carried on board Legazpi and Urdaneta, the galleons "San
Pablo" and "San Pedro", and the tenders "San Juan" and "San
Lucas", set sail on 21 November, 1564.
After spending some time in the islands Legazpi determined to remain, and sent Urdaneta
back for the purpose of finding a better return route and to obtain help from New Spain,
for the Philippine colony. He left the Island of Cebu in July, 1565, and was obliged to
sail as far as 36 degrees North latitude to obtain favourable winds. Urdaneta had to
assume command in person, fourteen of his crew died, and when the ship reached the port of
Acapulco on 3 October, 1565, only Urdaneta and Felipe de Salcedo, nephew of Legazpi, had
strength enough to cast the anchors.
From Mexico he went to Europe to make a report on the expedition, and returned to New
Spain, intending to continue on to the Philippines, but he was dissuaded by his friends.
He wrote two accounts of his voyages; the one giving the account of the Loaiza expedition
was published; the other, which gives the account of his return voyage, is preserved in
manuscript in the archives of the Indies.
[Editor's note: Dr. J.H.F. Sollewijn Gelpke, a noted expert on the early history of New
Guinea and the Moluccas, offers this supplement in 1998:
"This article contains an error where it states that in Lisbon in about 1536/7 he ran
into trouble for having told about 'the islands' (apparently the Spice Islands Ternate and
Tidore) 'when he passed through New Spain.'
At that time the Spaniards in the Moluccas were evacuated by the Portuguese and sent home
around Africa, not by way of America. In fact, their big problem was to find the way back
from the Moluccas to New Spain, and this search led to the discovery by Saavedra of the
island which Ortíz de Retes baptised as New Guinea in 1545. As the entry correctly
states, the North Pacific route was found only in 1564 (by Arellano on an unauthorized
journey), and shortly afterwards by Urdaneta, who got the credit for this discovery.
Urdaneta being prosecuted in Lisbon for sending information to (New?) Spain, would seem to
fit well in the cloak and dagger atmosphere around the Moluccas in the years 1525-1540
under the 6th and 7th Portuguese Captains Tristao de Ataíde and António Galvao.
Actually, however, after Emperor Charles V had mortgaged his claim to the Moluccas in 1529
to Portugal, the Portuguese didn't any longer strictly impose the 1504 decree of secrecy
on nautical information.
My field being the (proto-)history of New Guinea and the Moluccas, I regret being unable
to tell you what really happened to Urdaneta in Lisbon."]
