  thumbnail|pedro sarmiento de gamboa. pedro sarmiento de gamboa (1532â1592) was a spanish explorer, author, historian, astronomer, and scientist. his birthplace is not certain and may have been pontevedra, in galicia, where his paternal family originated or alcalÃ¡ de henares in castile, where he later is known to have studied .relaciÃ³n y derrotero del viaje y descubrimiento del estrecho de la madre de dios - antes llamado de magallanes. pedro sarmiento de gamboa, segÃºn amancio landÃ­n, uno de sus mÃ¡s reputados biÃ³grafos, naciÃ³ en pontevedra, hacia 1532. julio guillÃ©n --el marino-acadÃ©mico--, por su parte, dice que es posible fuera colegial mayor en la universidad de alcalÃ¡ de henares, ciudad que fue --asegura-- cuna del gran marino espaÃ±ol. este, no ha dejado aclarada la duda sobre su origen geogrÃ¡fico, pues afirmÃ³ ser natural de ambos lugares. his father bartolomÃ© sarmiento was born in pontevedra and his mother marÃ­a gamboa was born in bilbao, basque country. ==biography== ===early life=== at the age of 18, sarmiento de gamboa entered the royal military in the european wars. between 1550 and 1555 the future navigator fought in the armies of emperor charles v. in 1555 he began his exploring career, sailing across the atlantic ocean. his first destination was what is today mexico, where he lived for two years. little is known of this period in his life, other than that he encountered difficulties with the inquisition. he then sailed to peru, where he lived for more than twenty years. in lima he was accused by the inquisition of possessing two magic rings and some magic ink and of following the precepts of moses. he then joined Ãlvaro de mendaÃ±a expedition through the southern pacific ocean to find the terra australis incognita, which, should mendaÃ±a followed sarmiento's indications, had reached new zealand or/and australia; but they discovered the solomon islands instead, in 1568. in order to take credit of the discoveries for himself mendaÃ±a threw the journals and maps made by pedro sarmiento de gamboa overboard and abandoned him in mexico. a trial was then held in lima, with the result giving sarmiento credit for the discoveries. in 1572 he was commissioned by francisco de toledo, the fifth viceroy of peru, to write a history of the incas. toledo hoped such a history would justify spanish colonisation by revealing the violent history of the incas. sarmiento collected oral accounts first hand from inca informants and produced a history (commonly titled the history
1532_births 1592_deaths 16th-century_Spanish_people Explorers_of_South_America Galician_people Spanish_explorers Spanish_explorers_of_the_Pacific Spanish_people_of_Basque_descent Spanish_travel_writers