Juan Bautista Pastene

Juan Bautista Pastene
Idealized illustration of Pastene from Alonso de Ovalle's "Histórica relación del Reyno de Chile".
Born	1507 Genoa
Died	1580 Santiago, Chile

Giovanni Battista Pastene (1507–1580) was a Genoese maritime explorer who, while in the service of the Spanish crown, explored the coasts of Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Chile as far south as to the archipelago of Chiloé.

Juan Bautista Pastene was born in Genoa. His parents were Thomas and Esmeralda Solimana Pastene. He married Geneva Seixas, with whom he had three children. He arrived in Honduras in 1526, traveling in his own ship. He then came to Peru in 1536 to serve Francisco Pizarro. In 1544, and was pilot and Master of the ship Concepción.

He participated actively in many maritime explorations, which earned him be appointed by the Audiencia of Panama as a piloto mayor of the Mar del Sur (the Spanish name for the Pacific Ocean at the time).

King Charles V ordered the exploration of southern Chile. This task was given by the Viceroy of Peru to Pastene, in 1543, for which he was awarded the title of general de la Mar del Sur.

In 1544 Pedro de Valdivia entrusted exploring the coasts of the south to Pastene, ordering him to reach the Strait of Magellan. Although he did not reach this goal, he explored much of the coast. He was the first to arrive at Bay of Concepción, in the ship "San Pedro", and took possession of it.

In 1545 Pastene went to Peru in search of aid for the new settlements in Chile, returning in 1547. He made other voyages in support of the struggling colony.