22 Ιουλίου 2015

Ο θαλασσοπόρος Ιωάννης Φωκάς 1536 - 1602 ( Juan de Fuca ) .

Bust (προτομή) of Juan de Fuca - Ioánnis Phokás, created by Cephalonian sculptor Spiros Hourmouzis
Το κείμενο, προερχόμενο από την ηλεκτρονική εγκυκλοπαίδεια, απέστειλε ομογενής και, εντυπωσιασμένος, κυρίως από τη σχέση του άγνωστου πρωταγωνιστή της με την ιστορική βυζαντινή οικογένεια Φωκά (μέλος της οποίας και ο αυτοκράτορας Νικηφόρος Φωκάς), θέλησα να το μοιρασθώ μαζί σας.
Αφορά, όπως θα διαπιστώσετε, την περιοχή των Στενών που χωρίζουν στο δυτικό τους άκρο τον Καναδά από τις ΗΠΑ ανάμεσα στις πολιτείες Βρετανική Κολομβία (Βανκούβερ του Καναδά) και Ουάσινγκτον (Σηάτλ των ΗΠΑ) και τα οποία φέρουν το όνομα του Κεφαλωνίτη θαλασσοπόρου που πρώτος τα ανακάλυψε.ν.μ.
Ο Έλληνας θαλασσοπόρος Juan de Fuca και τα Στενά (Strait) of Juan De Fuca
Μάρκα πούρων από τη Φλόριντα με το όνομα του γνωστού στην Ισπανία και τις ΗΠΑ θαλασσοπόρου
Χάρτης της περιοχής των Στενών. Juan de Fuca
Ακολουθεί ενδιαφέρον από ιστορική άποψη βιογραφικό σημείωμα του Κεφαλωνίτη θαλασσοπόρου (που μας θυμίζει το δαιμόνιο συμπατριώτη του Κωνσταντίνο Γεράκη που το 17οκατόρθωσε να διορισθεί πρωθυπουργός του Σιάμ (Ταϊλάνδης).Ο Ιωάννης Φωκάς τίμησε την καταγωγή του και λάμπρυνε τη ναυτική παράδοση και τη ναυτωσύνη του λαού μας
Δυστυχώς το κείμενο προσφέρεται στην αγγλική, πιστεύω, όμως, ότι, έστω κι έτσι, αξίζει να το διαβάσετε, ώστε να μάθετε γι’ αυτόν το σπουδαίο Έλληνα. ν.μ.

Ioánnis Phokás (Greek: Ιωάννης Φωκάς), better known by the Spanishtranscription of his name, Juan de Fuca (born 1536 on the Ionian island ofCefalonia; died there 1602 ), was a Greek maritime pilot in the service of the King of Spain, Philip II. He is best known for his claim to have explored the Strait of Anián, now known as the Strait of Juan de Fuca, between Vancouver Island(now part of British Columbia, Canada) and the Olympic Peninsula (northwesternWashington State, United States).
Phokás's grandfather, Emmanouíl Phokás (Gr: Εμμανουήλ Φωκάς), fled(διέφυγε από την) Constantinople at its fall in 1453, accompanied by his brother Andrónikos (Gr: Ανδρόνικος).
The two settled first in the Peloponnese, where Andrónikos remained, but in 1470 Emmanouíl moved to the island of Cefalonia. Iákovos (Gr: Ιάκωβος), Ioánnis's father established himself in the village ofValerianos (Gr: Βαλεριάνος) on the island and came to be known as "the Valeriáno Fokás" (Gr: ο Φωκάς ο Βαλεριάνος) to distinguish him from his brothers.
It was in this village of Valeriáno that Phokás was born in 1536. Little to nothing is known about his life before he entered the service of Spain, some time around 1555.[3]
The name of the man known to history as Juan de Fuca is clearly aSpanish rendering (ισπανική απόδοση) of Ioánnis Phokás (Gr: Ιωάννης Φωκάς)
De Fuca's early voyages were to the Far East, and he claimed to have arrived in New Spain in 1587 when, off Cabo San Lucas in Baja California, theEnglish privateer Thomas Cavendish seized his galleon Santa Ana and deposited him ashore.
He was a well-traveled seaman, perfecting his skill as a pilot (οδηγός,ναυτίλος) in the Spanish fleet. The King of Spain, he also claimed, recognized him for his excellence and made him pilot of the Spanish navy in the West Indies (a title he held for forty years). Before he made his famous trip up the northwest coast of the North American continent, he sailed to China, the Philippines andMexico. The Strait of Juan de Fuca between the United States of America and Canada was named for him by British Captain Charles Barkley because it was at the same latitude that Juan de Fuca described as the location of the Strait of Anian.
Εικόνα από την περιοχή των Στενών. Fuca Pillar at Cape Flattery, Washington beside the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
In 1592, on his second voyage, de Fuca enjoyed success. Having sailed north with a caravel and a pinnace and a few armed marines, he returned toAcapulco and claimed to have found the strait, with a large island at its mouth, at around 47° north latitude.
The Strait of Juan de Fuca is in fact at around 48° N, although Fuca's account of sailing into it departs from reality, describing a region far different from what actually existed there.
During the voyage, de Fuca also noted a "high pinnacle or spired rock", which may have been Fuca Pillar, a tall, almost rectangular, rock on the western shore of Cape Flattery on the northwestern tip of Washington beside the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
Despite repeated promises de Fuca never received the great rewards he claimed as his due. After two years de Fuca travelled to Spain to make his case to the court in person. Disappointed again and disgusted with the Spanish, the aging Greek determined to retire to his home in Kefallonia.
in 1859, an American researcher, with the help of the U.S. Consul in theIonian Islands, was able to demonstrate only that Fokás had lived but also that his family and history were well known on the islands.
When the English captain Charles William Barkley, sailing the Imperial Eagle in 1787, (re)discovered the strait Fokás had described, he renamed it theStrait of Juan de Fuca.
The Juan de Fuca Plate, a tectonic plate = τεκτονική πλάκα underlying much of the coastline he explored, is named for the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
Juan de Fuca Provincial Park on Vancouver Island's West Coast is named for the strait.


Notes
1. Jump up ^ Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online, s.v. Fuca, Juan de.
2. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Greek Consulate of Vancouver, "Greek Pioneers: Juan de Fuca".[dead link]
3. Jump up ^ Fokás in 1596 claimed to have been some forty years in the king of Spain's service.
4. Jump up ^ British Columbia: From the Earliest Times to the Present, Chapter II, The Apocryphal Voyages, pp. 19-31, Ethelbert Olaf Stuart Scholefield, publ. S.J. Clarke, Vancouver, 1914
5. Jump up ^ Center for the Study of the Pacific Northwest
6. ^ Jump up to: a b Williams, Glyndwr (2003). Voyages of delusion: the quest for the Northwest Passage. New Haven: Yale University Press.
7. Jump up ^ Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online, s.v. Barkley, Charles William

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