About the author: Estéban Rodriguez, chief pilot of the ship Capitana in the Legaspi armada of 1565.
Biblioteca Maritima Espana Obra Postuma del Excmo. Señor Don Martin Fernandez de Navarre, Director who fué del Depdsito Hidrogratica y of the Academia de la Historia etc, etc., Imprenta de la Viuda de Calzro, Madrid, 1851 contains the following entry:
ESTÉBAN Rodríguez, natural of Huelva, fue of piloto mayor in the armada, that salió el año 1564 del puerto de la Navidad in Nueva-España al mando del general Miguel Lopez of Legazpi para el descubrimiento de las Filipinas; There murió in the march 27 of September of the year, volviendo por órden of which caudillo in Nano San Pedro, that will be the capitana, to discover the navegacion of aquellas islas in Nueva-España; dejando escrita:
Relation of the navegacion that hizo el armada of SM to freighter of the general Miguel Lopes de Legazpi of 21 of november of 1564, that salió del puerto de Navidad, hasta su llegada to the isla de Zubú de las Filipinas; and of the ocurrido in su conquista: con observaciones sobre the variacion of the aguja, etc.
Cuatro relaciones ó derroteros de la navegacion de dicha armada desde el puerto de la Navidad hasta las Filipinas: por el mismo Estéban Rodriguez, y los pilotos Pierres Plin, francés, of the nao capitana; Jaime Martinez Fortun and Diego Martin, from the nao almiranta; y Rodrigo de Espinosa, from the patax San Juan.
Y is hallan in colocacion immediata:
Dos declaraciones dadas en la mar á 9 de julio y 18 de setiembre de 1565 de de órden del capitan de dicha nao Felipe de Salcedo, nieto del general Legazpi, por el mismo Estéban Rodriguez y el piloto Rodrigo de Espinosa, del camino que habia desde el puerto de la Navidad á la isla de Zubú; y del que habian andado desde esta hasta dicho 18 de setiembre que vieron tierra de las Californias á los 33 ¼.° N. etc.
Dos derroteros de la navegacion de las islas de Poniente á Nueva-España, por los mismos Estéban Rodriguez y Rodrigo de Espinosa, hasta 14 de setiembre de 1565, por haber muerto el primero el dia 27 de este mes.
Hallábanse en Sev., leg. 2.° de: Papeles tocantes á las islas del Maluco y años 1564 4 1620; y existen copias en el D.h., tom. 17 de Mss.
An automatic translation of the above:
ESTÉBAN Rodriguez, a native of Huelva, was a senior pilot in the army, who left the year 1564 from the port of Navidad in New Spain under the command of General Miguel Lopez de Legazpi for the discovery of the Philippines; and he died in the sea on September 27 of the following year, returning by order of that leader in the ship San Pedro, of which he was the captain, to discover the navigation from those islands to New Spain; left these writings:
A relation of the navigation made by the armada of S. M. in charge of General Miguel Lopes de Legazpi from November 21, 1564, who left the port of Navidad, until his arrival at the island of Zubu in the Philippines; and of what happened in its conquest: with observations on the variation of the needle, etc.
Four relations or courses of navigation of the Navy from the port of Christmas to the Philippines: by Estéban Rodriguez himself, and pilots Pierres Plin , French, of the nao capitana; Jaime Martinez Fortun and Diego Martin, of the nao almiranta; and Rodrigo de Espinosa, from the patax San Juan.
And they are in immediate placement:
Two statements given at sea to July 9 and September 18, 1565 by order of the captain of said nao Felipe de Salcedo, grandson of General Legazpi, by the same Estéban Rodriguez and the pilot Rodrigo de Espinosa, of the road that had from the port of Navidad to the island of Zubú; and from the one who had walked from this to September 18, who saw land of the Californias at 33 ¼ N. ° etc.
Two routes of navigation from the islands of Poniente to New-Spain, by the same Estéban Rodriguez and Rodrigo of Espinosa, until September 14, 1565, because the first died on the 27th of this month.
They were in Sev., leg. 2nd of: Papers concerning the Maluco Islands and from 1564 to 1620; and there are copies in the D.h., tom. 17 of Mss.
About the diary: Taken from “The Excerpts from the Logbooks of the Pilots on the Armada headed by Miguel Lopez of Legazpi with their notes on the first sighting of the Islas Filipinas and the first landings on these islands,” in the year 1565. Document (s. 21 from The Philippines Under Spain: A Compilation and Translation of Original Documents, Book II (1561-1573): The Legaspi Expedition Conquest and Colonization , edited by Virginia Benitez Licuanan and Jose Llavador Mira, The National Trust for Historical and Cultural Preservation of the Philippines, Manila, 1991. This is an excerpt from Relación hecha por Esteban Rodríguez de Figueroa, Piloto mayor desde viaje de descubrimiento de las yslas del poniente de la vuelta dellas para la nueva España.