ABSTRACT
On 30 July 1789 two ships, the Descubierta and the Atrevida, set sail from Cádiz, Spain, for the South American port of Montevideo, on the first leg of a proposed journey around the world. The organizer and head of the expedition, as well as the captain of the Descubierta, was the Italian-born Alessandro Malaspina (1754—1810). The several purposes of the trip included the collection of natural history objects and information, the preparation of maps, and an investigation of the political state of Spanish possessions in the New World. The ships sailed from Montevideo round the southern tip of South America and up the western coasts of South and North America as far as Prince William Sound, Alaska. Returning to Acapulco, Mexico, they next sailed for the Marianas and the Philippines. The original intention to go around the world had been abandoned in favor of further work in South America, and they returned to Callao, port of Lima, after first visiting New Zealand, Australia, and the Friendly Islands. The final departure from Montevideo for Spain took place on 21 June 1794, and the expedition arrived back in Cádiz on 21 September of that year.
