an 18th-century Spanish explorer. He was the first European to sight, examine, name, and record the islands near present-day British Columbia, Canada, in the Pacific Northwest. Born in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, he first served as a piloto in western Spanish colonial North America on Manila galleons en route to and from the Philippines in the Spanish East Indies. In 1768, he was assigned to the Pacific port of San Blas, in the Viceroyalty of New Spain (present day Mexico), and acquired the rank of ensign (alférez).
