Pedro Fernandes de Queirós
| Pedro Fernandes de Queirós - modern artist's impression | |
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| Born | 1565 Évora, Portugal |
| Died | 1614 Panama |
| Nationality | Portuguese |
| Occupation | Navigator |
| Known for | Spanish discovery of the Pacific Ocean |
Pedro Fernandes de Queirós (Spanish: Pedro Fernández de Quirós) (1565–1614) was a Portuguese navigator in the service of Spain best known for his involvement with Spanish voyages of discovery in the Pacific Ocean, in particular the 1595-1596 voyage of Alvaro de Mendaña de Neira, and for leading a 1605-1606 expedition which crossed the Pacific in search of Terra Australis.
Queirós (or Quirós as he signed) was born in Évora, Portugal in 1565. As the Portuguese and Spanish monarchies had been unified under the king of Spain in 1580 (following the vacancy of the Portuguese throne, which lasted for sixty years, until 1640, when the Portuguese monarchy was restored), Queirós entered Spanish service as a young man and became an experienced seaman and navigator. In April 1595 he joined Álvaro de Mendaña de Neira on his voyage to colonise the Solomon Islands, serving as pilot. After Mendaña’s death in October 1595 he is credited with taking command and saving the only remaining ship of the expedition, arriving in the Philippines in February 1596.Isabel Barreto, Mendaña's young wife, is often considered to be the cause of the voyage's low morale, and the eventual failure of the mission. She lived a life of luxury in the grand cabin while the crew were fed on meagre rotting rations. The story is told in The Islands of Unwisdom, an historic novel by Robert Graves.
In 1598 Queirós returned to Spain and petitioned King Philip III to support another voyage into the Pacific. A devout Catholic, Queirós also visited Rome in 1600, where he obtained the support of the Pope, Clement VIII, for further explorations. He greatly impressed the Spanish Ambassador in Rome, the Duke of Sesa, who described him as a “man of good judgement, experienced in his profession, hard working, quiet and disinterested.” While in Rome Queirós also first wrote his Treatise on Navigation as a letter to the king, further reinforcing his reputation as a navigator. In March 1603 Queirós was finally authorized to return to Peru to establish another expedition, with the intention of finding Terra Australis, the mythical "great south land," and claiming it for Spain and the Church. Queirós's party of 160 men on three ships, San Pedro y San Pablo (150 tons), San Pedro (120 tons) and the tender (or launch) Los Tres Reyes left Callao on 21 December 1605.
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