On June 27, 1542, Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo departed New Spain (present-day Mexico) in search of a water route between the Atlantic and Pacific. Cabrillo was born in either Spain or Portugal in 1499. The nation of his birth has been debated for centuries, though a document discovered in 2015 has led many to believe he was born in Spain. In fact, the issue of his birthplace sparked a bit of controversy when this stamp was issued, so the selvage on stamp sheet reads “If he was Portuguese as many believe, his name would be spelled Joao Rodrigues Cabrilho.” The stamp uses the historically accepted Spanish spelling of the name.