Ioánnis Phokás (Greek: Ιωάννης Φωκάς), better known by the Spanish transcription of his name, Juan de Fuca (born 1536 on the Ionian island of Cefalonia; 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 (northwestern Washington State, United States).
Family and early life
Phokás's grandfather, Emmanouíl Phokás (Gr: Εμμανουήλ Φωκάς), fled 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 of Valerianos (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.
Juan de Fuca is a provincial electoral district in British Columbia, Canada established by the Electoral Districts Act, 2008. It was first contested in the 2009 general election, in which New Democrat, John Horgan was elected MLA.
Election history
Juan de Fuca was a Greek maritime explorer.
Juan de Fuca may also refer to:
The Strait of Juan de Fuca (officially named Juan de Fuca Strait in Canada) is a large body of water about 95 miles (153 km) long that is the Salish Sea's outlet to the Pacific Ocean. The international boundary between Canada and the United States runs down the center of the Strait.
It was named in 1787 by the maritime fur trader Charles William Barkley, captain of the Imperial Eagle, for Juan de Fuca, the Greek navigator who sailed in a Spanish expedition in 1592 to seek the fabled Strait of Anián. Barkley was the first non-indigenous person to find the strait, unless Juan de Fuca's story was true. The strait was explored in detail between 1789 and 1791 by Manuel Quimper, José María Narváez, Juan Carrasco, Gonzalo López de Haro, and Francisco de Eliza.