Álvaro de Mendaña de Neira

Background

Álvaro de Mendaña y Neira was born on 1 October 1542 in Congosto, in El Bierzo Region (León). He was the nephew of Lope García de Castro, viceroy of Peru. In 1567, command of an expedition to find land in the Pacific was given to Mendaña, despite the bitter disappointment of Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa, who had proposed the voyage. Mendaña's priority was conversion of 'the heathen' to Christianity, while Sarmiento sought riches.

The two ships sailed from Callao, Peru on 20 November 1567, sighting Santa Isabel Island on 7 February 1568, which became part of the Solomon Islands. The expedition encountered cannibalism among the islanders and, after building a small brigantine, explored Malaita, Guadalcanal, Makira, and Choiseul Island. On 7 August 1568, a council decided to return to Peru, reaching the Mexican coast in late January 1569.

Did You Know?

• During the first voyage, islanders offered Mendaña 'a quarter of a boy with the arm and hand,' revealing cannibalism.
• The Island of St Francis seen on the return of the first voyage was probably Wake Island; attempts to relocate it led James Cook to first reach the Hawaiian Islands.