In 1542-43, Portuguese-born João Rodrigues Cabrillo and his chief pilot Bartolomé Ferrelo, who may have been Portuguese, were the first Europeans to explore the coast of the present state of California. According to Richard Henry Dana, who wrote 'Two Years Before the Mast', California was discovered in 1534 by Ximenes, or in 1536 by Cortes .... Presumably he was referring to Gonzalo Ximenes De Qiesada (1509-1579), or Herman Cortes (1485-1547).