Haro, Gonzalo López de
d. 1823
In 1788, Gonzalo López de Haro, along with Lieutenant Estéban Martínez, led a Spanish expedition to the Pacific Northwest. During the voyage, López de Haro and Martínez collected information about the increased activity of the British and the Russians in the Pacific Northwest; this information strengthened Spain's desire to occupy Nootka Sound.1
Spanish Naval officer Manuel Quimper named the Haro Strait after López de Haro, who served as the 1st officer on Quimper's 1790 voyage to Nootka Sound, and made a historic survey of Juan de Fuca Strait. Gonzalo López de Haro's name is attached to several places and features in British Columbia, including Gonzales Bay, Gonzales Hill, Gonzales Point, and López Island.2
  • 1. Andrew Scott, The Encyclopedia of Raincoast Place Names (Madeira Park, BC: Harbour Publishing, 2009), 250.
  • 2. Ibid.
Mentions of this person in the documents