Francisco de Ulloa

Timeline

1. c. 1495–1539New Spain (Mexico) · AmericasDetails of Ulloa's life are extremely limited; he is presumed born in Spain and to have gone to the New World in his youth to seek a living. He became a subordinate of the conquistador Hernán Cortés, was active in the colonial society of New Spain (present-day Mexico), gradually gained Cortés's trust, and was entrusted with maritime exploration tasks along the west coast.
2. 1539Gulf of California · North AmericaOn July 8, 1539, Ulloa set out northward from the port of Colima with three ships—the Santiago, the Santiago (small), and the Santa Agueda. The fleet sailed up Mexico's west coast, penetrated deep into the Gulf of California, recording coastal terrain and indigenous peoples along the way. By late October of that year it reached the gulf's northernmost point near the Colorado River delta, definitively confirming the gulf as a closed inland sea, completely refuting the hypothesis of a "Northwest Passage" to the Atlantic, and completing the first European survey of the entire Gulf of California.
3. 1539–1540Cabo San Lucas · North AmericaAfter turning back from the northern end of the Gulf of California, Ulloa rounded Cabo San Lucas at the peninsula's southern tip (present-day Cabo San Lucas), entered the Pacific side and continued north, exploring the west coast of the Baja California peninsula and reaching at least its middle (around 29° N). This first proved that Baja California was a peninsula rather than a separate island, correcting earlier geographical misconceptions. In early 1540 he sent one ship back to New Spain with a report while he himself continued northward; thereafter he was never heard from again, possibly lost during the expedition.