Pedro Porter Casanate
|
Don Pedro Porter Caballero de Santiago |
|
|---|---|
| Royal Governor of Chile | |
|
In office 1656–1662 |
|
| Monarch | Philip IV |
| Preceded by | Francisco Antonio de Acuña |
| Succeeded by | Diego González Montero |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
30 April 1611 Zaragoza, Spain |
| Died | 27 February 1662 (aged 50) Concepción, Chile |
| Profession | Admiral |
| Religion | Catholic |
Admiral Pedro Porter y Casanate (April 30, 1611 – February 27, 1662) was a Spanish sailor, soldier, explorer of California and Royal Governor of Chile from 1656 to 1662.
Porter was born in Zaragoza, the second son of Juan Porter and Esperanza Casanate. In 1627, he joined the Spanish Navy, and under Admiral Fadrique de Toledo participated in the expedition against La Rochelle. The year after, he joined the fleet of Admiral Francisco de Vallecilla, charged with protecting the silver galleons from pirate attacks. In 1629, he travelled to the new world for the first time, to fight against the British that had occupied the islands of Saint Kitts and Nevis, taking part in several conflicts in his time and in numerous naval expeditions in the Indies, as a consequence of which he was promoted to alférez in 1631, and sea captain in 1634. The same year, he published his first book on naval themes, the Correction to mistakes of the Spanish navigation (Spanish: Reparo a errores de la navegación española).
Later he would become an admiral of the South Seas fleet. He was knight of the Order of Santiago.
In 1635, he applied for and got from the Viceroy of New Spain marquis de Cerralvo a license to explore California, a territory that although located within the borders of the Spanish Empire was unknown whether it was an island or peninsula. Nonetheless, problems and suspicions about his intentions led to the confiscation of his ships. In 1636, he tried again, this time with the license and economic sponsorship of Viceroy marquis de Cadereyta
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