Until the early 19th century, Mazatlán was a collection of huts inhabited by indigenous people whose major occupation was fishing, according to Abel Aubert du Petit-Thouars, a French explorer. In 1829, a Filipino banker named Juan Nepomuceno Machado arrived and established commercial relations with vessels coming to Mazatlán from far off places such as Chile, Peru, the United States, Europe, and Asia Pacific. By 1836, the city had a population of between 4,000 and 5,000. It subsequently became the largest port on the Mexican Pacific coast.