Álvaro de Mendaña de Neira
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Álvaro de Mendaña de Neira or Neyra (1541 - November 1595) was a Spanish navigator. Born in Congosto, in León, he was the nephew of Lope García de Castro, viceroy of Peru. In 1567, he and Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa sailed from Callao, in Peru, on an expedition to the South Pacific in search of the legendary Terra Australis. Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa was the "Master of the Route." The voyage discovered Wake Island and the Solomon Islands.
In order to take credit of the discoveries for himself Mendaña de Neira threw the journals and maps made by Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa overboard and abandoned him in Mexico. A trial was held in Lima, with the result giving Sarmiento credit for the discoveries. Sarmiento wrote to Philip II of Spain asking the king to prohibit Mendaña de Neira from returning to the Solomon Islands.
The king ignored this request and Mendaña made a second voyage to the area (1595-96). On this voyage he discovered the Marquesas Islands, named for the wife of the then viceroy of Peru, García de Mendoza, marquis de Cañete.
Mendaña died on this voyage, but before his death he delegated his authority to his wife, Isabel Barreto, who was accompanying him on the voyage. Her title was Adelantada. She took charge and with resolution led the fleet into Manila in Feburary 1596. She has become known as the only Lady Admiral of the Ocean Seas to ever command in the Spanish navy.
Links
- [The First Discovery of Australia and New Guinea by George Collingridge, Chapter IX]
- This article incorporates text from the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia.
(The article can be found here: [link]
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