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Villalobos Pacific Expedition

Type Event Region Pacific Ocean Time 1542–1550

In November 1542, Spanish explorer Ruy Lopez de Villalobos led a fleet from New Spain across the Pacific, reaching the present-day Philippine Islands…

Timeline

  1. 1542Navarrete (present-day Nayarit, Mexico) · NayaritOn November 1, 1542, Villalobos set sail from Navarrete with four ships and about 370 men, ordered to find a westward route across the Pacific connecting New Spain with the Molucca spice islands.
  2. 1543Samar Island (one of the first landing sites) · PhilippinesIn February 1543 the fleet reached the present-day Philippine Islands; Villalobos named them Las Islas Filipinas in honor of the crown prince, later Philip II, the historical origin of the country name "Philippines".
  3. 1544–1550Cebu (where Villalobos died of illness) · CebuIn April 1544 Villalobos was captured by Portuguese forces on Cebu and died in the conflict; the survivors under Alonso de Arellano and others continued to drift, and only around 1550 did personnel return to Mexico, formally ending the expedition.

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