coastal route to reach the Asian mainland, as well as attempt to find the Strait of Anián.Information about Cabrillo's voyages. In 1542, Cabrillo became the first European to explore the west coast of today's United States, leading the expedition that landed at San Diego Bay, and continued north along the coast up to Punta del Año Nuevo, 37° 10' north of Monterrey. But Cabrillo died on January 3, 1543, and the remainder of the exploration was led by Bartolomé Ferrer, who sailed perhaps as far north as the Rogue River in today's western coast of Oregon.U.S. National Park Service Juan Cabrillo website Importantly beginning in 1565, Acapulco was a home of the vital Manila Galleons. The Manila Galleons crossed the Pacific Ocean to the Spanish possession of the Philippines, laden with silver and gemstones from Mexico. There, the wealth was used to purchase Asian trade goods such as spices, silk, and porcelain. These goods were then carried across the Pacific by the Manila Galleons to Acapulco; from there, the goods were transshipped across Mexico, for delivery to the Spanish treasure fleet, for shipment to Spain. The income provided to Spain by the Manila Galleons was essential to the Spanish Crown and to the Spanish economy of the era.Summary of Spanish North Pacific history When Miguel López de Legazpi completed the conquest of the Philippines in 1565, he sent his flagship, the San Pedro, back to New Spain, with orders to survey and chart a practicable route for ships returning from the Islands. The San Pedro sailed from Cebu, headed roughly northeast, followed the Kuroshio Current (also known as the Japan Current), and made landfall on the coast of California about the latitude of Cape Mendocino. A sail of two thousand five hundred miles down the coasts of California and New Spain brought the voyagers to the port of Acapulco. This route was charted by the Basque navigator and friar Andrés de Urdaneta, on board the San Pedro, and for nearly three centuries was the one followed by the galleons of Spain sailing from Manila to Acapulco. This return voyage across the Pacific could take up to seven months. A harbor on the coast of California where ships could find shelter and repair damage was greatly desired. A survey of the unknown northern Pacific coast of North America was ordered, and it was also suggested that the explorations be extended north