1494-Columbus’ third voyage is manned primarily by Basques.

1496-1514- Pedro de Arbolancha is the major provisioner of the New World.
By 1596, two Panama-based Basques, Francisco & Miguel de Eraso own 184 ships, almost monopolizing trade routes between Europe and the New World.

1502-Columbus’ fourth voyage includes the ship Vizcaina, with Basque pilot and crew, built in Guetaria.

1509-Juan de La Cosa (de Lakotsa?) is killed by Indians in what is now Columbia.

1554-1564- Francisco Ibarra explores northern Mexico and founds the province of Nueva Viscaya and the city of Durango--named after his birthplace in Viscaya.

1564- Andres de Urdaneta and Miguel Lopez de Legazpi y Gorrocatagui open the sea route between Nueva España and the Orient.

Urdaneta is a perfect example of Basque pride, work ethic and determination. In the 1500’s, Spain was still hoping to make the Philippines a stopping place in route to China and her lucrative trade. The Portuguese had closed the Cape of Good Hope to all countries but themselves and so an eastward passage across the Pacific had to be found. Going west from Acapulco to the East Indies offered no difficulty. Any navigator could steer into the belt of the northeast trade winds and stay there. The return east was an entirely different matter. It would require “tacking” back and forth in the teeth of the trade winds taking so much time no ship of the day could have carried enough provisions to make it. After Magellan discovered the westward passage to Asia, several attempts followed to break into the Portuguese monopoly. One of these expeditions was led by Jofre de Loaisa in 1525. In his crew was the Basque sailor, Andres de Urdaneta. After reaching the East Indies, Urdaneta found he could not return to Spain and spent 11 years trading and sailing in spite of the Portuguese. He returned to Lisbon in 1536 and became a monk in 1552. In 1564 a new expedition to explore the Philippines and look for an eastern passage was being organized by Luis de Velasco. The only man in Spain who knew anything about those waters was Urdaneta. He consented to go along as an observer and advisor.
The fleet sailed from Acapulco in November 1564, under the command of another Basque, Miguel Lopez de Legazpi y Gorrocatagui. After reaching Manila, one ship, with Urdaneta aboard, set out to find the eastward passage. Shortly thereafter, the pilot and sailing master died and Fray Andres had to take the helm. Scurvy left the vessel virtually without enough hands to sail it but Urdaneta took the ship north 2,000 miles and then east to California then south to Acapulco, arriving there on October 3, 1565. He had completed the first voyage on the Great Circle Route across the Pacific, 10,000 miles, in four months and two days. Fourteen of the crew had died of scurvy and at Acapulco, no one even had the strength to drop anchor. Only two men, in fact, were able to stand at all. One was the captain, Felipe de Salcedo, and the other was Fray Andres de Urdaneta.

1571- Miguel Lopez de Legazpi y Gorrocatagui, who had gone to Mexico in 1528 and amassed a fortune, again sails to the Philippines, forcefully takes Luzon and establishes Manila as the capital of the new colony.

1598-Juan de Oñate y Salazar, son of Cristóbal, explores into what will become New Mexico. He founds the kingdom of New Mexico, becomes its governor and helps found Santa Fe. He is known as the father of mining and ranching in the western U. S. He is married to Isabel de Tolosa Cortéz Moctezuma, granddaughter of Hernán Cortéz and great granddaughter of Aztec monarch Moctezuma.

1601-Oñate explores into what will become Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas and
gives El Paso its name, El Paso del Río del Norte.

1602-Sebastian Viscaino leads an exploration party from Alcapulco, up the coast of what is now California with 3 ships, 200 men and 3 Carmelite Friars. On November 10 he reaches San Miguel Bay, discovered and named in 1542 by Juan Cabrillo. Because his flagship is named San Diego and because the feast day for saint San Diego de Alcala is only two days off, Viscaino renames the harbor San Diego. A tent church is erected and on November 12, 1602, he takes part in the first Mass held in California. He remains at the site for 8 more days refitting his ships and burying crew members who have died with scurvy.
As he continues his expedition, among the additional sites he names are Santa Barbara, Monterey and Carmel.

1602- Basques control the huge silver mining operation at Potosí, in what is now Bolivia. Most of the silver mined in South America comes from Potosí. Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, 45% of all immigrants in Chile are Basques.

1604- Oñate explores what will become Arizona and the lower Colorado River area arriving at the Pacific on the coast of Baja California. He resigns as governor of New Mexico in 1608.

Jesuit Order founders St. Ignatius (from Loyola, Guipuzcoa) and St. Francisco [Javier] (from Javier, Navarra) are both Basques.

1660- Basque fishermen set up installations at Plaisance and Cap-Breton Isle, in what will become Canada.

1678- Jesuits send Isidro Atondo y Antillon to study the possibility of building missions in Baja California.

1683- Basque friar Matias Goni and Italian, Eusebio Francisco Kino, explore Baja California for two years.

1697- Royal Treasurer of Mexico, Pedro de Labastida, from Alava, and friar Juan de Urgarte fund and are guardians of the money used to found missions in California.

1697-1767- Seventeen missions are built in Baja California. Of the 62 friars who served the missions, 10 are Basque. (Jose de Echeverria, Juan de Muguzabal, Juan Manuel de Basaldua, Sebastian de Sistiaga, Juan and Agustin Luyando, Juan and Pedro Ugarte, Matias Goni and Juan Salazar.)

1714- Basque mariners are so numerous on the Canadian coasts of Labrador and the west coast of Newfoundland and so steady in their work that the King of France names an officer responsible for their security. From 1714 to 1761 Francois Martel de Berhouague occupies this post. He is the son of Raymond Martel de Berhouague, a native of Labastide-Clairence.

All through the history of New France (Eastern Canada) Basque fishermen serve as the basis of Canadian enterprise. In the 1720’s it was Jean Gatin. From 1753 to 1758 it was Joseph Cadet and Joseph Caillabet. However, tradesmen other than fishermen are also prominent. These include Martin Cheniqui, carpenter, Michel d’Irrumberry de Salaberry, naval captain, Leon Roussey, transatlantic navigator and colonial pirate, Dominque Daguerre, ropemaker.

1731- Juan Antonio de Vizarron y Equiarreta is Archbishop of Mexico.

1736- Silver is discovered in Sonora at a site 17 miles south of the present U.S. border. Because the area has been almost totally settled by Basque frontiersmen and ranchers, the site has a Basque name, ariz ona, or “good oak.” Over 170 years later, the 48th state admitted to the Union will be named Arizona.

(The Arizona Historical Society, on its website, answers the question, “What does the name Arizona mean?” in this manner: “Many answers have been posed for this question. Some suggested that it came from “arid zone,” but much of Arizona is not arid, and Spanish grammar would have dictated “Zona Arida,” putting the adjective last. The next suggestion attributed it to an O’odham Indian phrase, “Ali Shonac” meaning shallow, brackish water or spring. However, recent writings present the best cause for the Basque phrase “Aritz ona[c]” meaning the good oak tree or trees. The name was first applied to a huge silver discovery southwest of modern day Nogales, Arizona, an area where oak trees grow. The fact that there are several more areas with the same name in Central and South America lend the most credence to the Basque origin.” (Emphasis added.)

NOTE: In his book, Juan Bautista de Anza, Basque Explorer in the New World, 1693-1740, historian Donald Garate devotes almost an entire chapter developing the Basque origin for the name of Arizona. Among the Basques he cites who were involved in the settlement, development, investigation, prospecting, and Arizona silver discovery were: Jose Fermin de Almazan discoverer of a slab of silver weighing almost a ton; Juan Bautista de Anza who had to keep the peace and try and come to a fair settlement; Pedro Felipe de Anza; Agustin de Aresti; Missionary Juan de Echagoyen; Francisco Antonio Echevarri; Francisco de Garduno; Tomas de Garnica; Francisco de Garrastegui alcalde mayor of Sonora; Domingo de Gomendio Urrutia alcalde ordinario of Mexico City; Jose de Gorraez recorder of discovery in Mexico City; Blas de Gortazar accountant for Agustin de Vildosola; Juan Domingo de Guraya; Jose de Leiva; Francisco de Longoria filed first claim in Arizona area and later became Lieutenant Governor of Sonora; Luis de Mendivil; Jose de Mesa; Francisco Xavier de Miranda; Antonio Bautista de Morueta; Martin de Murrieta teniente general of Sonora and Ostimuri from 1725 to 1727; Jose de Olave; Jose de Osorio; Gavriel de Prudhom Butron y Mujica alcalde mayor of Sonora from July 1727 to July 1735 who also drew a draft map of Sonora on which Arizona is shown; and Francisco Perez Serrano possibly one of original Basque founders of the area. He was also the father of Ana Maria Perez Serrano, wife of Juan Bautista de Anza II. Others involved were Bernado de Urrea, Anza’s deputy justicia mayor and Arizona resident; Jose de Usarraga; Jose Joaquin de Usarraga; Jose de Veitia; Lorenzo de Velasco who discovered a one and one half ton slab of silver and parlayed it into the largest ranching operation in Sonora at the time; Agustin de Vildosola who had large mining interests and was second governor of Sonora, 1741-1748; Juan Antonio de Vizarron Archbishop of Mexico and Viceroy of Nueva España 1734-1740 and Juan Jose de Zarasua escribano real in Mexico City

1737- Martin de Elizacoechea, born in Azpilkueta, Nafarroa, becomes Bishop of Durango, Kindom of Nueva Vizcaya, Mexico. Pedro de Echenique and Juan Ignacio de Arrasain, fellow Nafarroans, are his personal secretary and confessor, respectively.

1737- Juan Bautista de Anza, Chief Justice of Sonora, petitions Archbishop Juan Antonio de Vizarron y Equiarreta to open a land route from Sonora to Alta California.

1740- Anza, now Captain of the royal presidio of Fronteras, is killed by Apaches.

1741- Agustine de Vildosola, a mining developer in northern Mexico since 1722, becomes the second governor of Sonora.

1759-Juan Tomas de Beldarrain, first Captain of Tubac presidio, is killed by a poisoned Seri Indian arrow. Governor Juan de Mendoza appoints Juan Bautista de Anza, II, to take his place.

1760- Governor Mendoza is killed by a Seri arrow in the throat.

1767- Naval base at San Blas de Nayarit is built on Pacific coast to launch new explorations and provision colonies. San Blas is the most important sea base in the North Pacific from 1767 to 1797. First administrator of the region is Juan de Urrengoechea y Arrinda. The three head ship builders are also Basques, Pedro de Yzaguirre, Francisco Segurola and Manuel de Bastarrechea.

1774- Anza, II, receives backing from Basque bankers, financiers and monopolists in Mexico City for the colonization of what is now San Francisco, California. Among these backers are Manuel de Aldaco, Ambrosio de Meave, Francisco de Fagoaga, and Juan Jose de Echeveste. Powerful Basque politicians also give him backing. These are Domingo de Arangoiti, Francisco de Gamboa, Jose de Areche, Antonio de Villaurrutia and Vicerory Antonio Maria Bucareli y Ursua.

1775- Anza, II, on March 28, along with his lieutenant Jose Joaquin Moraga, his chaplain and 17 soldiers are the first Europeans to stand on the San Francisco side of what we now call the Golden Gate.

Anza is another amazing individual. Along with the deeds already mentioned, he also led a 6 month trek from October, 1775 to March, 1776, involving 300 men, women and children plus 1,000 animals from Tubac, Sonora, to Monterey, California. He was made commander of all troops in Sonora in 1776 and Governor of New Mexico in 1777. In 1778 he orchestrated the Pecos Peace Treaty with the Comanche which is the longest lasting peace treaty ever signed by the Comanche and any government of Spain, Mexico or the U.S. He asked to be released as governor in 1786 and he was commander of the Tucson (now Arizona) Presidio in 1788. He died suddenly on December 19, 1788, at his home in Arizpe.

1775- Bruno de Hezeta, from Bilbao and Juan Francisco la Bodega y Quadra, a Basque born in Peru, sail from San Blas to Alaska establishing northern-most claim of sovereignty for Spain.

1783- Simon Bolivar, El Libertador, born in Caracas, Venezuela, to a wealthy Basque family from Viscaya. Bolivar becomes the father of Latin American independence as he frees from Spanish rule the area of Latin America that will become Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Venezuela and part of Peru. The country of Bolivia is named for him.

1785- An example of the heavy Basque presence in Mexico is demonstrated in Patzcuaro, Michoacan. Some of the Basques there are public officials while others are mining operators or merchants trading with the Orient via Alcapulco. The city organization of Amigos del Pais has 16 Basque members and in 1787 nine out of the ten city councilmen are Basques.

1795-1810- Another example of how Basques grouped together in Mexico is in Valladolid, Michoacan. Led by Juan Basagoiti, there are over 200 Basques involved in the church, government, commerce, ranching, mining and sugar factories. In Morelos and Cuernavaca, Basques own all the sugar factories.

1803-Before the Louisiana Purchase, the last Spanish Governor of Louisiana is Salcedo, born in Bilbao and the last French Governor of Louisiana is Laussat, born in Pau. The first historian of Louisiana is Charles De Gauarre.
It is also in Louisiana that Basque inventor Daguerre has his invention of the Daguerro-type camera introduced to America.

During the last 30 years of Spanish rule in Alta California (Present day California) all the governors are native Basques.
1783- Jose Joaquin de Arrillaga
1794- Diego de Borica y Retegui was also a soldier and had served under General Jacobo Ugarte Loyola, a Basque general who fought the Apache tribes along the northern Mexican frontier in 1787. Borica’s health forced him to retire in 1799. He died in Durango in 1800.
1800- Arrillaga again until1814

1796-1801- The first governor of Tennessee is Basque, John Sevier. Born in Rockingham County, Virginia, to a French Huguenot family who originally spelled their name “Xavier.”

1803-1808- The Viceroy of Mexico City is Jose de Iturrigaray.

1804-The Governor of Baja California is Felipe de Goycoechea.

1814-1824- Pablo Vincente Solá is Governor of Alta California.

1825-1830- Mexican-born Basque, Jose Maria de Echeandia is Governor of Alta California.

1842-1845- Mexican-born Basque, Manuel Micheltorena is Governor of Alta California.

1850- Pedro Altube comes to California seeking gold. He makes enough money to buy a herd of cattle and trail them to Nevada. In 1873 he founds the huge Spanish Ranch and starts bringing Basque friends and relatives to the U.S. to help with his growing enterprises. These people then spread to every western state. Altube is known as the “Father of Basques in the West.”

1911- A last interesting note about Basque exploration. Hiram Bingham, a historian and assistant professor of Latin American History at Yale University, is credited with “discovering” the lost Inca city of Machu Picchu on his 1911 Peruvian expedition. However, he was led to the site by Melchor Arteaga, a Basque mestizo innkeeper. When they arrived at the ruins they found the words “1902 Agustin Lizarraga is the discoverer of Machu Picchu.” Lizarraga was a local Basque mestizo farmer who had actually found the famous lost city nine years earlier.

Basque Missionaries in Alta California (Present day California)

1769- Portolá expeditions includes friar Juan Viscaino and Mallorcan friar, Junipero Serra.

1772- Three Basques lead Alta California missions:
Gregorio Amurrio--San Diego
Fermin Francisco de Lasuen--San Gabriel
Juan Prestamero--San Luis Obispo

1776- Lasuen, Amurrio and another Basque, Mugategui (listed as Magartegue below) found mission San Juan Capistrano. Lasuen is President of the Missions in California from 1773 to 1803.

Between Serra’s first voyage in 1769 and the secularization of the missions in 1834, a total of 128 friars serve the Alta California missions. Twenty-seven of these are Basque. (Amestoy, Amurrio, Arreñaza, Arriota, Barona, Calazada, Carranza, Esteñaga, Ibarra, Iturrate, Landaeta, Lasuen, Marquinez, Martiarena, Magartegue, Murguia, Quintana, Prestamero, Saizar de Vitoria, Santiago, Sarria, Solá, Ulibarri, Urresti, Uria, Urria, Zalvidea.)

An interesting note about the Basque language is that the word “orange” comes from the Basque word “laranga” or “that which was first eaten.” “Orange” is one of the few words in the English language that no other word rhymes with.