URDANETA, ANDRS DE

born 1498, Villafranca de Oria, Spain died June 3, 1568, Mexico City navigator and monk whose discovery of a favourable west-to-east route across the Pacific made possible colonization of the Philippines. As a young man he spent eight adventurous years in the Spice Islands (Moluccas) and then, in 1553, entered the Augustinian order in Mexico City. Philip II of Spain asked him to guide an expedition from Mexico to the Philippines and to find a return route. Five earlier attempts had ended in disaster. In April 1565 Urdaneta reached the Philippine island of Cebu, where he established a mission, and on June 1 he embarked on the return voyage. By sailing at high latitudes, around 42 N, he took advantage of favourable winds, avoided typhoons, and reached the Isthmus of Panama in 123 days. His route of the Manila Galleon helped the Spaniards to colonize the Philippines and to gain Eastern markets for the products of Peru and Mexico.