Juan de Fuca

Juan de Fuca
Born	Ioannis Phokas 1536 Cephalonia, Venetian Ionian Islands (now Greece)
Died	1602 Cephalonia
Nationality	Venetian
Occupation	maritime pilot

Ioannis Phokas (Greek: Ιωάννης Φωκάς), better known by the Spanish transcription of his name, Juan de Fuca (born 1536 on the Ionian island of Cefalonia; died there 1602), was a Greek maritime pilot in the service of the King of Spain, Philip II. He is best known for his claim to have explored the Strait of Anián, now known as the Strait of Juan de Fuca, between Vancouver Island (now part of British Columbia, Canada) and the Olympic Peninsula (northwestern Washington state, United States).

Phokás's grandfather, Emmanouíl Phokás (Gr: Εμμανουήλ Φωκάς), fled Constantinople at its fall in 1453, accompanied by his brother Andrónikos (Gr: Ανδρόνικος). The two settled first in the Peloponnese, where Andrónikos remained, but in 1470 Emmanouíl moved to the island of Cefalonia. Iákovos (Gr: Ιάκωβος), Ioánnis's father established himself in the village of Valerianos (Gr: Βαλεριάνος) on the island and came to be known as "the Valeriáno Fokás" (Gr: ο Φωκάς ο Βαλεριάνος) to distinguish him from his brothers.

It was in this village of Valeriáno that Phokás was born in 1536. Little to nothing is known about his life before he entered the service of Spain, some time around 1555.

The name of the man known to history as Juan de Fuca is the source of some confusion. While Juan de Fuca is clearly a Spanish rendering of Ioánnis Phokás (Gr: Ιωάννης Φωκάς), some sources cite Apóstolos Valeriános (Gr: Απόστολος Βαλεριάνος) as his "real" name. It is possible that Phokás was baptized Apóstolos and later adopted the name Ioánnis/Juan (i.e., John) because is not much used as a name in Spanish. Given that Fokás/Fuca was the family name borne by the seafarer's father and grandfather, Valeriános is likely to be a nickname used on the island which would have been quite meaningless in the Spanish Empire.

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