Alessandro Malaspina
| Alessandro Malaspina | |
|---|---|
_Malaspina.jpg) |
|
| Born |
November 5, 1754 Mulazzo, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, Holy Roman Empire |
| Died | April 9, 1810 Pontremoli, French Empire |
| Allegiance |
.svg){kind=small} Spain
|
| Service/branch |
 Navy of Spain
|
| Years of service | 1774–1795 |
| Rank | Brigadier |
| Commands held | Malaspina Expedition |
| Battles/wars | Great Siege of Gibraltar |
Alessandro Malaspina (November 5, 1754 – April 9, 1810) was an Italian explorer who spent most of his life as a Spanish naval officer. Under a Spanish royal commission, he undertook a voyage around the world from 1786 to 1788, then, from 1789 to 1794, a scientific expedition (the Malaspina Expedition) throughout the Pacific Ocean, exploring and mapping much of the west coast of the Americas from Cape Horn to the Gulf of Alaska, crossing to Guam and the Philippines, and stopping in New Zealand, Australia, and Tonga.
Malaspina was christened "Alessandro". He signed his letters in Spanish "Alexandro", which is usually modernized to "Alejandro" by Spanish scholars.
Malaspina was born in Mulazzo, a small principality ruled by his family. Today part of Tuscany, it was then part of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, a fiefdom of the Holy Roman Empire. Alessandro's parents were the Marquis Carlo Morello and Caterina Meli Lupi di Soragna. During 1762–1765, his family lived in Palermo with Alessandro's great-uncle, Giovanni Fogliani Sforza d'Aragona, the viceroy of Sicily. From 1765 to 1773 he studied at the Clementine College in Rome. In 1773 he was accepted into the Order of Malta and spent about a year living on the island of Malta where he learned the basics of sailing.
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