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Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo was born around 1475 in Spain. -
Along with 2,500 soldiers and 30 ships, he sailed to the West Indies to colonize Cuba.
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Cabrillo was sent to Mexico to arrest Hernán Cortés, but Cabrillo decided to join Cortés in assaulting the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlán. -
He broke up Indigenous families and forced the men to mine for gold, which in turn made him a very rich man.
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He traveled to Spain, where he met and married Beatriz Sanchez de Ortega. They had two sons. -
Sent by Antonio de Mendoza, the Viceroy of New Spain, Cabrillo sailed from Mexico to explore the California Coast. -
He discovered "a very good enclosed port" that he named San Miguel, which is now known as San Diego Bay. -
He discovered an area and named it Cabo de Pinos, which is now known as Point Reyes.
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Cabrillo died after breaking his shin bone (which became infected) during a fight with Indigenous Tongva warriors.