Malaspina's expedition was the most important voyage of discovery dispatched by Spain in the 18th century. It had two primary goals, the first being to increase geographic and scientific knowledge in general, the second to check on the status of Spain's vast empire, especially along the west coast of North America, where the Russians and the British were expanding their influence. Modeled after the voyages of
James Cook, the Malaspina expedition was conducted in a highly scientific manner. Numerous scientists from many fields were among the crew. Indigenous peoples, such as the
Tlingit and Tongan, were studied by the expedition's
ethnographers. The
Descubierta and
Atrevida sailed from Cádiz on 30 July 1789, stopping first at
Montevideo on the
Río de la Plata, then sailing south along the coast of
Patagonia and visiting the
Falkland Islands (
Islas Malvinas). After rounding
Cape Horn the expedition stopped at several Chilean ports and surveyed the
Juan Fernández Islands. The two corvettes sailed north separately, surveying and mapping the coast between Peru and Mexico, where they arrived at the end of March 1790. In Mexico Malaspina received instructions from the Spanish king,
Carlos IV requiring a change of plans. Instead of sailing to the
Hawaiian Islands and the
Kamchatka Peninsula, Malaspina was to sail to Alaska and survey the coast between
Mount Saint Elias and
Nootka Sound, on
Vancouver Island, in order to prove or disprove the existence of a
Northwest Passage supposedly located in that area. Accordingly, the two corvettes sailed from
Acapulco on 1 May 1791, and arrived at
Yakutat Bay by the end of June. Staying at Yakutat Bay for about a month, the scientists made detailed ethnographic studies of the local Tlingit people. Surveys along the coast of Alaska revealed no hint of the fabled Northwest Passage. On July 27 Malaspina and Bustamante headed south to Nootka Sound, arriving there on 12 August 1791. They remained at Nootka Sound for about a month. Detailed surveys were made of the area, while the ethnographers studied the
Nuu-chah-nulth (Nootka) people. Leaving Nootka Sound, Malaspina and Bustamante sailed the
Descubierta and
Atrevida south to
Monterey,
Alta California. There Malaspina learned from
Juan Carrasco that an inland sea had been discovered near Nootka Sound. It was the
Strait of Georgia. Malaspina knew that an exploration voyage had to be dispatched immediately. He gave two of his officers,
Dionisio Alcalá Galiano and
Cayetano Valdés y Flores, command of two newly constructed
goletas (
schooners or
brigs), and instructed them to thoroughly explore the new discovery. Malaspina himself supervised the final construction and fitting out of the two
goletas, called the
Sutil and the
Mexicana. The Malaspina expedition crossed the Pacific Ocean, from Acapulco to
Manila in the Philippines, by way of the
Mariana Islands. Coastal surveys were done and a side-trip to
Macao was made. Then the two corvettes sailed southwest, landing at
Espiritu Santo in the
New Hebrides, then continuing on to southern New Zealand. After a visit to
Dusky Sound, previously explored by Cook, the Spaniards explored
Doubtful Sound, which no European had visited before. From New Zealand the expedition sailed west to
Port Jackson,
Australia (today part of
Sydney). They arrived in March 1793, about five years after the British first colonized Australia. The Malaspina expedition stayed for about a month. Relations with the British colonists were warm and friendly. The Spanish conducted scientific experiments, including astronomical and hydrographic observations, and the collection of many specimens of flora, fauna, and minerals. They also observed the British settlement, taking special note of any potential threat to Spanish interests in the Pacific. Malaspina was concerned that the increasing British presence in the Pacific might jeopardize Spanish trade between the Americas and the Philippines, which the
Manila galleons had carried out for over two centuries with virtually no outside interference. The Spanish corvettes left Port Jackson on 11 April 1793 and sailed northeast to
Tonga, then known as the Friendly Islands. Cook had visited the southern Tongan islands in 1773. Malaspina opted to visit the northern archipelago now known as
Vavaʻu. After the stay in Tonga the expedition sailed to Peru, then back around Cape Horn and on to Spain, arriving in Cádiz on 21 September 1793 after a voyage of over four years. ==Aftermath==