Diego Ram�rez de Arellano (c.

1580 � 27 May 1624[1]) was a Spanish sailor and

cosmographer.[a] He achieved fame for piloting the Garcia de Nodal expedition to
the region of the Strait of Magellan. The expedition discovered the Diego Ram�rez
Islands, the most southerly point visited by Europeans until the discovery of the
South Sandwich Islands by Captain James Cook in 1775.[3]

Contents
1 Background
2 Garcia de Nodal expedition
3 Later career
4 Achievements
5 Bibliography
6 References
Background
The Strait of Magellan was discovered by the Spanish in 1520, providing a sea route
between the Atlantic and the Pacific that ran between South America and the
archipelago of Tierra del Fuego.[4] The strait averages just over 4 miles (6.4 km)
wide, and is much narrower in places, forming a "V" shape pointing south. There are
westerly or southwesterly winds most of the year, often stormy. The tidal currents
are strong and unpredictable. The strait is a difficult and dangerous passage for a
sailing vessel.[5] Early in the seventeenth century it became known that the Dutch
navigators Jacob Le Maire and Willem Schouten had found a new and safer route
farther south. Philip III of Spain arranged for an expedition of two ships to
verify the discovery, which left Lisbon in September 1618.[1]

Garcia de Nodal expedition

Main article: Garcia de Nodal expedition

Map by Diego Ram�rez de Arellano of the Illa de X�tiva, today called Tierra del
Fuego
Diego Ram�rez de Arellano is located in Southern Patagonia Diego Ram�rez de
Arellano
Location of the Diego Ram�rez Islands to the south of Tierra del Fuego
Diego Ram�rez de Arellano was born in X�tiva in Valencia around 1580. He was
appointed the main pilot in the 1618 expedition led by the brothers Bartolom� and
Gonzalo Garc�a del Nodal to explore the region of the Straits of Magellan.[1] The
expedition consisted of two caravels. Ram�rez was charged with astronomical
observations and with preparing charts with the help of Juan Manso and seven other
pilots, four in each caravel. They had modern astrolabes that could measure angles
of five minutes of arc, giving much more accuracy than older instruments.[6]

The expedition left Lisbon on 27 September 1618 and returned to Sanl�car de

Barrameda nine months later on 8 July 1619. The two caravels navigated without
difficulty to the southern extreme of the American continent, resting on the way
for a few days at Rio de Janeiro.[6] They left Rio de Janeiro on 6 December 1618.
On 6 January 1619 they found islands that they named Los Reyes. On the 19 January
they reached the Cape of Virgins, and on the 22 January Cape Le Maire, which they
called Cape San Vicente.[7] The ships sailed through the San Vicente Strait, then
west into the Pacific.[6] This verified the route found by the Dutch.[1] On 10
February 1619 they found a small group of islands to the southwest that they named
after their cosmographer: the Diego Ram�rez Islands.[8]

Sailing northwest, the expedition then entered the western end of the Magellan
Strait and returned eastward to the Atlantic via the strait. The journey met no
difficulties other than those normal in the harsh environment of the region.
Ram�rez, assisted by the pilot Juan Manso, collected the material needed to draw
the first comprehensive sea chart of the southern part of Patagonia. The
circumnavigation showed that Tierra del Fuego was an island, not a northern
extension of the "Terra Australis" southern continent as had been thought.[6]
Later career
From as long ago as 1613 the Spanish had been planning to send a fleet to assist
the garrison in the Philippines. In 1616 it was proposed to send eight ships with
150 bronze artillery pieces and 1,600 infantry. In 1617 the former Procurator
General had written to the king asking that the fleet be dispatched as soon as
practical, and that year a small fleet was sent via the Cape of Good Hope, which
reached the Philippines two years later, in 1619. On 2 July 1619 a new fleet was
ordered to take the Cape of Good Hope route to the Philippines, but for the rest of
the year there was discussion about whether this route or the route round South
America would be best.[9]

Lorenzo de Zuazola was appointed commander of the fleet.[10] On 10 December 1619

Zuazola was ordered to sail via the Cape of Good Hope, but on 12 December was
authorized to change to the newly discovered Cape Horn route if the experts in the
fleet agreed that weather and the fleet's position were favorable. Francisco Montez
was made pilot of the fleet. Diego Ram�rez de Arellano was made honorary captain of
the Spanish infantry, and was given the title of almirante. Ram�rez also served as
a pilot, and was recommended to the Governor of the Philippines as a cosmographer
and expert in navigation.[10] From the Philippines, Ram�rez was to go on to the
spice islands, where the Dutch were in strength, and then to try to discover
Australia.[1]

The departure was confused, with some ships setting off early and then returning to
Cadiz.[10] The whole fleet left on 21 December 1619, and ran into a violent storm
on 3 January 1620. The ships were scattered, with some coming ashore on the coast
of Spain, others on the coast of Africa. Many were killed, including Zuazola.[11]
Only two tenders escaped from the Santa Margarita galleon, saving Diego Ram�rez de
Arellano and Admiral Garcia �lvarez de Figueroa.[12] Ram�rez de Arallano swam
ashore.[11]

Ram�rez was appointed pilot of the House of Trade in Seville, an important position
which he held from 1620 to 1624.[13] While still in office, Ram�rez died in Seville
on 27 May 1624. He left all his property and debt to his wife Marian Aybar, who was
six months pregnant.[1]

Achievements
Ram�rez de Arellano made important contributions to navigation, pinning down
latitudes and longitudes and correcting navigation charts.[14] Ram�rez named many
places including the Isla de X�tiva, now the Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, the
Ildefonso Islands and the Strait of Saint Vincent the Martyr, named after the
patron saint of Valencia. This last is now known as Le Maire Strait after the
earlier Dutch navigator.[1] Captain James Burney called the discovery of the Diego
Ram�rez Islands the most remarkable event of the voyage, since for a century and a
half they were the most southerly points marked on any chart.[15]

Ram�rez published a chart of magnetic variations that he had measured on the

journey, the first for that region.[16] The Nodal brothers' account of the voyage,
Relaci�n del viaje que por orden de su Majestad y acuerdos del Real Consejo de
Indias, was published in Madrid in 1621 by Fernando Correa of Montenegro. Ram�rez's
1621 narrative, Reconosimiento de los Estrechos de Magallanes y de San Vi�ente, was
suppressed at the time. In 1866 a summary was published in the annual report of the
Spanish Hydrographical Repository. The full text was not published until 2011.[14]
It is a tale of high adventure.[1]

Bibliography