Álvaro de Mendaña

Álvaro de Mendaña y Neira
Imaginary portrait by a 19th-century artist
Born	(1542-10-01)October 1, 1542 Congosto, León, Spain
Died	October 18, 1595(1595-10-18) (aged 53) Santa Cruz, Solomon Islands
Nationality	Spanish
Occupation	Explorer, navigator, cartographer
Spouse(s)	Isabel Barreto

Álvaro de Mendaña y Neira (or Neyra) (October 1, 1542 – October 18, 1595) was a Spanish navigator. Born in Congosto, in El Bierzo Region, (León), he was the nephew of Lope García de Castro, viceroy of Peru. He is best known for the two voyages of discovery he led into the Pacific in 1567 and 1595 in search of Terra Australis.

Historian Brett Hilder has written of “ardent spirits in Peru, inspiring three Spanish voyages to the south west Pacific in the forty years from 1565 to 1605.” One of these ardent spirits was certainly Spanish soldier Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa who arrived in Peru in 1557. Sarmiento de Gamboa developed an interest in Inca stories of gold and riches being collected from lands further to the west. Sarmiento's proposal for an expedition to find land in the Pacific was put to Governor Lope García de Castro, finding favour as it matched common Spanish belief in the existence of a great South Land. Historian Miriam Estensen argues Governor Castro also agreed as a way of maintaining peace and order. “Restless and disruptive” elements in the Spanish Americas were encouraged to join such journeys of exploration to remove them from colonial society. The lure of possible wealth made these expeditions attractive to such men, often drawn from the poorest levels of society.

However, Sarmiento de Gamboa was bitterly disappointed not to be made Captain-General of the expedition. Instead, command was given to the Governor Castro's nephew, the younger and relatively inexperienced Álvaro de Mendaña de Neira. Sarmiento was to be “Cosmographer”. In Sarmiento’s written account, he was Captain of the flagship and at least on the same level as chief pilot and navigator Hernando Gallego. While Sarmiento’s interest was the riches to be gained, Mendaña’s priority was conversion of "the heathen" to Christianity. Deep divisions had been created within the Spanish command, even before the expedition departed.