Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo
by Harry Kelsey
Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo brought the first European explorers
to the West Coast of the United States more than four centuries ago.
His exploits are mentioned in dozens of textbooks on the history of
the Anerican West, yet very little has been known about this man—where
he was born, what he achieved during his lifetime, and where he died.
This book traces Cabrillo's rise from a ragged childhood in the streets
of Seville to a position of power and wealth as one of the richest
landholders and most intrepid adventurers in the New World. Author,
adventurer, slaveholder, shipbuilder, and a professional soldier with
a real taste for slaughter, he was also a family man, and perhaps
even a religious man.
There have been many biographical essays, but this is the first full-scale
biography of Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo based on original research.
Working from the earliest published accounts, through thousands of
pages of unpublished documents in Guatemala, Mexico, Spain, Portugal,
Austria, the Netherlands, England, through research libraries in the
United States, and especially the rich collections of the Huntington
Library, Kelsey presents us with a vivid account of Juan Rodríguez
Cabrillo's life and times.
Praise for Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo:
"At last a distinguished biography of California's first authenticated
European visitor is now available to students and scholars...Kelsey
has resurrected Cabrillo from fancy and myth and made him a truly
recognized hero. This is an impressive and scholarly biography and
is an important contribution to California, western, and colonial
Spanish-American history. It is gratifying that the first full-length
portrayal of Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo is so well done. It should
stand the test of time as the definitive work on the subject."—Utah
Historical Quarterly
"Harry Kelsey's Cabrillo is engaging, well-illustrated,
imaginatively researched, and intelligently written with an eye for
context as well as for vivid and concrete detail."—Southern
California Quarterly
"This is the first balanced study of Rodríguez Cabrillo,
and readers familiar with the explorer will be pleased to learn of
his extensive background as a mariner, soldier, and entrepreneur....
Those who know nothing of him but are interested in the early history
of the New World, particularly of California, will be fascinated by
this energetic personality in the age of 'wooden ships and iron men.'
Kelsey's book is scholarly and readable, well illustrated and nicely
printed—a quality work. It is a major contribution to Spanish
Californiana and a 'must' for all libraries and collections in the
field."—The Californians
An early view of the fighting in the Mixton War. Pedro de Alvarado
is shown in the center of the illustration, about to be crushed by
a horse at the Peñol de Nochistlán. (Shearman Collection,
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.)
One of the few surviving pictures of ocean-going vessels
built at the time of Alvarado's armada, this view shows six ships
in a Portuguese fleet of 1541. ("Roteiro de Dom. Joham de Castro,"
Cottonian MS, Tib. D. Ix, British Library, London)
Copyright © 2003, Huntington Library Press.
All rights reserved.
E-mail: booksales@huntington.org
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