Harry Kelsey
Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo
$12.95, £8.95 paperback
9780873281768
Available Now
276 pages, 6 x 9 inches, 29 b/w illustrations
January 1998, Available worldwide
January 1998, Available worldwide
Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo brought the first European explorers to the west coast of the United States more than four centuries ago. This biography traces Cabrillo's rise from a ragged childhood in the streets of Seville to a position of power and wealth as one of the richest landholders and most intrepid adventurers in the New World. There have been many biographical essays, but this is the first full-scale biography of Cabrillo based on original research. Working from the earliest published accounts, through thousands of pages of unpublished documents—especially the rich collections of the Huntington Library—Kelsey presents us with a vivid account of Cabrillo's life and times.
"At last a distinguished biography of California's first authenticated European visitor is now available to students and scholars. . . . Kelsey has resurrected Cabrillo from fancy and myth and made him a truly recognized hero. This is an impressive and scholarly biography and an important contribution to California, western, and colonial Spanish-American history. It is gratifying that the first full-length portrayal of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo is so well done. It should stand the test of time as the definitive work on the subject."—Utah Historical Quarterly
"Harry Kelsey's Cabrillo is engaging, well-illustrated, imaginatively researched, and intelligently written with an eye for context as well as for vivid and concrete detail."—Southern California Quarterly
"This is the first balanced study of Rodriguez Cabrillo, and readers familiar with the explorer will be pleased to learn of his extensive background as a mariner, soldier, and entrepreneur. . . . Those who know nothing of him but are interested in the early history of the New World, particularly of California, will be fascinated by this energetic personality in the age of 'wooden ships and iron men.' Kelsey's book is scholarly and readable, well illustrated and nicely printed—a quality work. It is a major contribution to Spanish Californiana and a 'must' for all libraries and collections in the field."—The Californians
"Harry Kelsey's Cabrillo is engaging, well-illustrated, imaginatively researched, and intelligently written with an eye for context as well as for vivid and concrete detail."—Southern California Quarterly
"This is the first balanced study of Rodriguez Cabrillo, and readers familiar with the explorer will be pleased to learn of his extensive background as a mariner, soldier, and entrepreneur. . . . Those who know nothing of him but are interested in the early history of the New World, particularly of California, will be fascinated by this energetic personality in the age of 'wooden ships and iron men.' Kelsey's book is scholarly and readable, well illustrated and nicely printed—a quality work. It is a major contribution to Spanish Californiana and a 'must' for all libraries and collections in the field."—The Californians
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