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About Francisco Javier de Viana

About the author:  Francisco Javier de Viana y Alzaibar (1763–1820). Uruguayan naval officer originally in the service of Spain, eventually a general in the army of Uruguay. Served as an ensign on the Malaspina Expedition.

About the diary: His account of the Malaspina Expedition, Diario del viage explorador de las corbetas españoles Descubierta y Atrevida en los años de 1789 á 1794, was the first to be published.

Used here are:

1. Clásicos uruguayos No. 28. Diario de viaje. Tomo II / Francisco Xavier de Viana, Ministerio de Instrucción Pública y Previsión Social (Montevideo) 1958. Pages 118 to 146 inclusive, covering the dates March 10 to December 21, 1792. This period, however, does not include March 27 to November 14, 1792. These entries are in the original Spanish.

2. For the missing period, we have included the portion published as “Viana’s Account of his survey of the Coasts of Pangasinan, Ilocos and Cagayan” from Malaspina, Alessandro, and Andrew David. 2001. The Malaspina Expedition, 1789-1794: journal of the voyage by Alejandro Malaspina. Works Issued by the Hakluyt Society, London: Hakluyt Society in association with Museo Naval, Madrid. Specifically, v. 2. Panama to the Philippines. 2003. This covers the period April 18 to May 17, 1792.