Juan José Pérez Hernández

Who was Juan José Pérez Hernández?

Juan José Pérez Hernández, often simply Juan Pérez, was an 18th-century Spanish explorer. He was the first European to sight, examine, name, and record the islands near present-day British Columbia, Canada. Born in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, he first served as a piloto in western Spanish colonial North America on Manila galleons en route to and from the Philippines in the Spanish East Indies. In 1768, he was assigned to the Pacific port of San Blas, in the Viceroyalty of New Spain, and acquired the rank of ensign.