He is known for commanding the galleon Nuestra Señora de la Esperanza, that in the year 1587 undertook the second trans-Pacific crossing from the Asian mainland to the Americas in history, the first being the one achieved by his contemporary Francisco Gali in 1584.
They then sailed progressively southwards along the Western American coast to Acapulco, reaching the area on November 22 of same year.
The main goals of the journey were to find the purported islands of Rica de Oro, Rica de Plata and Armenio (which Unamuno concluded did not exist),[1] and also the profitable transport of Chinese goods to New Spain (which was a violation, like Gali's voyage three years earlier, of the monopoly accorded by the Spanish Crown to the Manila galleons).
The official trade galleon of 1587 from Manila, the Santa Ana, reached the Californian coast one month later than the Esperanza but was then captured along with her cargo by two English privateer ships commanded by Sir Thomas Cavendish.
Ignacio (De) Loyola, brought along with him a young Japanese boy whom he was taking to present to the King, “as he had a story to tell;“ but he had only 60 pesos expenses to buy European clothes.”