Abstract

JAUREGUI-LOBERA, Ignacio. Navigation and history of science: Fray Andrés de Urdaneta and the "Tornaviaje". JONNPR [online]. 2022, vol.7, n.4, pp.409-421.  Epub Sep 25, 2023. ISSN 2529-850X.  https://dx.doi.org/10.19230/jonnpr.4911.

Fray Andrés de Urdaneta receives the order, in 1558, to prepare the "Tornaviaje", that is to say, to find a return route that allows to connect by sea the viceroyalty of New Spain and the islands of Southeast Asia in a stable way, an essential step for the establishment of permanent bases and commerce in Asia. The first thing he does is to suggest to King Philip II an excuse to go there for "humanitarian reasons", since he knows of the dubious legality of the trip according to the terms of the Treaty of Tordesillas. He then addresses the logistical problems. As he knew the coast of Jalisco well, he proposes the port of Acapulco as the American terminal. He would go on to write a report for Luis de Velasco, but whose final addressee was Philip II, in which he explains the reasons why the voyage should be made from Mexico, and not directly from the peninsula, given the difficulty of having to cross the Strait of Magellan and the great distances involved.

Keywords : Urdaneta; "Tornaviaje"; Pacific ocean; cosmography; astronomical navigation; scurvy.

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