War of the Castilian Succession
Considerably younger than his brothers, it is likely that his name "Yáñez" came from Rodrigo Yáñez, a bailiff ("alguacil") of Palos who would then have been his godfather, according to the custom of the place. Tradition in Palos indicates that he lived on the Calle de la Ribera. From a young age, he learned the art of navigation from his oldest brother, and from adolescence he participated in combat and in military assaults, as he happened to reach this age during the War of the Castilian Succession.