In 1520, Ferdinand Magellan and his Spanish expedition became the first Europeans to sail around South America to the Pacific, and then across it to Asia. Though of the original 270 men and five ships of the expedition, only 18 men and one ship returned to Spain, it proved that such a feat was possible. However, the route was less than perfect. For one thing, it was incredibly dangerous. While navigation in the Atlantic was fairly well understood, such as the prevailing currents and winds, nobody had a damn clue about such things with the Pacific. A follow up Spanish expedition in 1525, consisting of seven ships, was scattered by storms with only one vessel reaching Asia, where it promptly sank. Furthermore, though the Spanish had found winds and currents to carry them west, they were unable to find the same to take them east, meaning that the only way to return to Spain was via sailing through the Indian Ocean around the southern tip of Africa, a route jealously guarded by the Portuguese. In 1527, a Spanish expedition from Mexico crossed the Pacific, but then spent the next two years moving north and south to try and find a way back, before being captured and imprisoned by the Portuguese.
The failure of these several expeditions to return, greatly muted Spanish interest in crossing the Pacific, instead for a decade they turned their attention to the west coast of North America, hoping to discover new rich empires similar to those found in Mesoamerica and possibly the western end of the fabled Northwest Passage. Between 1533 and 1543, Spanish explorers made their way north along the Mexican and then Californian coasts, reaching as far north as the southern border of what is today Oregon. However, finding little no rich cities and no Northwest Passage, such expeditions were abandoned in favor of again searching for a reliable route across the Pacific. In 1542, a new expedition left Mexico and successfully crossed the Pacific, but again failed to find a return route, its members eventually imprisoned by the Portuguese.
The Spanish did not try again until 1564, sending a large expedition westward across the Pacific from Mexico under the command of Miguel de Legazpi. Unlike his predecessors, Legazpi was not the type to fuck around. Immediately upon arrival in Asia, he ordered one of his ships to start looking for a route back while he launched a war of conquest in what would become known as the Philippines. It was quite the gamble, and it paid off. The ship tasked with returning to New Spain managed to find easterly winds and currents to the north, which carried it to the California coast which was then followed south to Mexico. With a return route discovered, a second expedition was quickly sent to reinforce the first, which resulted in the Philippines, named after the King of Spain, being fully conquered by Spain in 1570. The conquest of the Philippines gave Spain a base of operations for trading throughout East Asia. Twice a year, a fleet of ships, know as Manila galleons, laden with silver and gold would sail from the port of Acapulco in New Spain to the Philippines, where they would be reloaded with silks and spices and then sent back to Mexico. These goods would then be carried across Mexico, loaded on different ships, and be taken across the Atlantic to Spain. It was the first true global trade network.
Following the establishment of the Pacific trade route, the Spanish had very little interest in further exploration of the Pacific. Aside from the discovery of a few islands in the South Pacific, most often by random chance after storms, they largely kept to their known routes. Other nations proved less than interested as well, largely due to the difficulty of navigating routes firmly controlled by the Spanish and Portuguese. The English privateer Francis Drake led the first non-Spanish expedition around the southern tip of South America in 1578, though his interest was more in pillaging. He attacked Spanish ships and colonies along the coasts of what is today Chile and Peru, then fled northward to the remote coasts of present day northern California and southern Oregon to make much needed repairs to his ship. Unable to return the way he had come, he then sailed across the Pacific and then around Africa, returning home to England in 1580 to a hero’s welcome. This feat was later repeated by the Dutch privateer Olivier van Noort in 1600.
The success of Drake’s attacks created a renewed interest by the Spanish in the west coast of the Americas, as ships were sent north to try and locate the privateer. This in turn led to several expeditions being sent to explore the west coast of the present day United States from 1585 to 1602, most with the goal of finding safe harbors for the returning Manila galleons. Most of these only explored the coast of California, but one, led by Juan de Fuca, made it as far north as the Puget Sound. However, much as before, the expeditions showed the region had little of interest to the Spanish, further exploration would not resume for some 150 years.
