Juan de Ayala | |
|---|---|
 Juan Manuel de Ayala | |
| Born | Juan Manuel de Ayala y Aranza (1745-12-28)28 December 1745 |
| Died | 30 December 1797(1797-12-30) (aged 52) |
| Occupation | naval officer |
Juan Manuel de Ayala y Aranza (28 December 1745 – 30 December 1797) was aSpanish Navy officer who played a significant role in the European exploration ofCalifornia, as he and the crew of his shipSan Carlos were the first Europeans known to have entered theSan Francisco Bay, having sailed there from the Port of San Blas, Nayarit, Mexico.
Ayala was born inOsuna,Andalucía,Spain. He entered the Spanish navy on 19 September 1760, and rose to achieve the rank ofcaptain by 1782. He retired (on full pay on account of his achievements in California) on March 14, 1785.
In the early 1770s, the Spanish royal authorities ordered an exploration of the north coast of California, "to Ascertain if there were anyRussian Settlements on the Coast of California, and to Examine the Port of San Francisco". DonFernando Rivera y Moncada had already marked the point for a mission in what is nowSan Francisco, and a land expedition to establish Spanish rule over the area, underJuan Bautista de Anza had been sent northwards. Ayala, then aLieutenant was one of those assigned to the naval expedition. He arrived inVera Cruz in August, 1774 and proceeded toMexico City to receive orders from theViceroy, Frey DonAntonio María de Bucareli y Ursua.
Bucareli sent him toSan Blas where he took command of theschoonerSonora, part of a squadron under the general command of DonBruno de Heceta, in thefrigateSantiago. The squadron sailed from San Blas early in 1775. However, when they were lying outside San Blas about to set out, the commander of thepacket shipSan Carlos, Don Miguel Manrique, was taken ill - some sources say that he went mad.[which?] Ayala was ordered to take command of this larger vessel, sailed back to San Blas to land the unfortunate Manrique, and rejoined the squadron after a few days' sailing. Ayala was designated to pass through the strait and explore what lay within, while theSantiago andSonora continued northwards.[1]
TheSan Carlos took on supplies atMonterey, leaving there on 26 July and then proceeding northwards. Ayala passed through theGolden Gate on 5 August 1775, with some difficulty and great caution because of the tides. He tried a number of anchorages, finding that offAngel Island was most satisfactory, but failed to make contact, as he had hoped, with Anza's party. Ayala put up a wooden cross where he landed the first night. TheSan Carlos remained in the Bay until 18 September, returning to San Blas via Monterey. Ayala's subsequent report to the Viceroy gave a full account of the geography of the bay, and stressed its advantages as a harbour (chiefly the absence of "those troublesome fogs which we had daily in Monterey, because the fogs here hardly reach the entrance of the port, and once inside the harbor, the weather is very clear.") and the friendliness of the localNative American people.[citation needed]
On 12 August 1775, Ayala gave the nameIsla de Alcatraces, "island of the pelicans", and what is nowYerba Buena Island, "on account of the abundance of those birds that were on it." The name was transferred in 1826 toAlcatraz Island.[2] The word "Alcatraz" comes from Spanish, which in turn was a probably a loan word from Arabic, القطرسal-qaṭrās meaning "sea eagle."[3] The pelicans native to San Francisco Bay arebrown pelicans.[citation needed]
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