Ruy López de Villalobos
At some point he became an experienced sailor and Pedro de Alvarado referred to him as "a very expert and practical gentleman in things of the sea.
Villalobos was commissioned in 1541 by Antonio de Mendoza, the viceroy of New Spain and first colonial administrator in the New World, to send an expedition to the Philippines, then known to the Spanish as the "Islands of the West" (Islas del Poniente).
[2] Villalobos's fleet of six ships left Barra de Navidad, Jalisco, in New Spain (now Mexico) with 370–400 men on 1 November 1542:[2] The large number of passengers included a unit of soldiers and a number of gentlemen, who brought black slaves and about 40 Indian men and women as servants.
[4] The fleet first encountered the Revilla Gigedo Islands off the west coast of Mexico, among which the sighting of Roca Partida was reported for the first time.
[5][6] According to Spate, Villalobos's crew included the pilot Juan Gaetan, credited by La Perouse for the discovery of Hawaii.
[3] Instead, on 2 February, the fleet reached northeastern Mindanao, exposed to the weather coming from the open ocean and separated from any Chinese or Malay traders.
[2] Bernardo de la Torre[11] or Villalobos[10] named Mindanao Cesarea Karoli (Latin: Caesarea Caroli) in honor of the Habsburg emperor Charles V, who was also king of Spain as Carlos I.
They resorted to eating grubs, unknown plants, land crabs that sickened the crew, and a phosphorescent gray lizard which killed most of those who ate it.
De Castro demanded an explanation for the presence of the Spaniards in Portuguese territory, in response to which Villalobos drafted a letter dated 9 August.
His letter repeated the Spanish claims to the islands, saying they were within the Demarcation Line of the Crown of Castile under the relevant treaties.
[14] On 27 August the San Juan left for New Spain under De la Torre, directed to explain the expedition's difficulties and request additional supplies and reinforcements.
Juan Gaetan's account of the Villalobos voyage was published in 1550–1559 by Giovanni Battista Ramusio, an Italian historian, in his Navigations and Travels (Navigationi et Viaggi).
