Juan de Fuca (10 June 1536, Cefalonia 23 July 1602, Cefalonia) was a Greek pilot who served PhilipII of Spain. He is best known for his claim to have explored the Strait of Aniánnow known as the Strait of Juan de Fucabetween Vancouver Island (now part of British Columbia, Canada) and the Olympic Peninsula (northwestern Washington state in the United States). Name "Juan de Fuca" is a hispanicization of the Greek name or Phokas (), latinized as . However, his exact name is somewhat uncertain. Some sources state that his actual name was Apostolos Valerianos (). It is possible that he was baptized as Apostolos and later adopted the name Ioannis or Juan because is not a common Spanish name. It is known that his father and grandfather bore the name Focas, so it seems likely that Valerianos was a nickname or epithet borrowed from the village where he grew up on Cefalonia. Family and early life De Fuca's grandfather Emmanouil Fokas () fled Constantinople during its fall in 1453, accompanied by his brother Andronikos (). The two settled first in the Peloponnese, where Andronikos remained, but in 1470 Emmanouil moved to the island of Cefalonia. Ioannis's father Iakovos () established himself in the village of Valerianos on the island and came to be known as "the Valeriano Fokas" (, Fokas ho Valerianos) to distinguish him from his brothers. De Fuca was born in Valerianos on June 10, 1536. Little is known about his life before he entered the service of Spain some time around 1555. Early career De Fuca's early voyages were to the Far East, and he claimed to have arrived in New Spain in 1587 when, off Cabo San Lucas in Baja California, the English privateer Thomas Cavendish seized his galleon Santa Ana and deposited him ashore. He was a well-traveled seaman, perfecting his skill as a pilot in the Spanish fleet. The King of Spain, he also claimed, recognized him for his excellence and made him pilot of the Spanish navy in the West Indies (a title he held for forty years), but there is no record in Spanish archives of his name or position or of his visit to the royal court. Before he made his famous trip up the northwest coast of the North American continent, he sailed to China, the Philippines and Mexico. The Strait of Juan de Fuca between the United States