Álvaro de Mendaña de Neira

The full index of our ship stamp archive
Post Reply
Anatol
Posts: 1037
Joined: Sun Apr 12, 2009 2:13 pm

Álvaro de Mendaña de Neira

Post by Anatol » Thu Apr 09, 2015 8:20 pm

Álvaro de Mendaña y Neira (or Neyra) (October 1, 1542 – October 18, 1595) was a Spanishnavigator. Born in Congosto, in León, he was the nephew of Lope García de Castro, viceroy ofPeru. He is best known for the two voyages of discovery he led into the Pacific in 1567 and 1595 in search of Terra Australis.
The first voyage of 1567-1569.The two ships, the 200 ton Los Reyes (the Capitana or flagship) and the 140 ton Todos Santos (the Almiranta or secondary ship) sailed fromCallao, in Peru on 20 November 1567, with about 150 sailors, soldiers, priests and slaves on board.
The main result of the expedition was the discovery of the Solomon Islands and Tuvalu. The navigators also gained valuable sailing experience for Spain, especially in crossing the vast South Pacific from Peru. These discoveries led to successive expeditions in search for Terra Australis, both by Mendaña himself and by Pedro Fernandes de Queirós.
However, the Great South Land had not yet been discovered by Europeans. The islands found, by now popularly called the Solomon Islands, had not revealed more than a few indications of gold. There were no spices and the people had not been converted to Christianity.
More about the first voyage see topic: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=10904.
The Second voyage 1595-1596.A much larger and costlier expedition had been planned by the early 1590s, after Mendaña had spent years courting favour in Madrid and Lima. Four ships and 378 men, women and children were to establish a colony in the Solomon Islands. Again, the leaders of this voyage had “widely divergent personalities.” Mendaña was again in command, accompanied by his wife Doña Isabel Barreto, her three brothers and a sister. Chief pilot was to be a young Portuguese navigator in Spanish service, Pedro Fernandes de Queirós. An argumentative old soldier, Pedro Merino Manrique was chosen as camp master. Manrique caused disputes before the fleet had even departed.
The four ships, San Gerónimo (the Capitana), the Santa Ysabel (the Almiranta), the smaller frigate Santa Catalina and the galiot San Felipe left Callao on 9 April 1595. Spirits were high in the first month, fifteen marriages being celebrated. Mendaña had Queirós prepare charts for his Captains that only showed Peru and the Solomon Islands.
On 21 July 1595 the ships reached the Marquesas Islands, (named for the wife of the then viceroy of Peru, García Hurtado de Mendoza, 5th Marquis of Cañete) to be met by four hundred people in canoes. Although the Spaniards admired their “graceful shape” and “almost white” complexion, the relationship with the natives later deteriorated. When the expedition left two weeks later, Queirós estimated 200 Marquesans had been killed.
Despite Mendaña’s confidence that the Solomon Islands were nearby, it was not until 8 September that they sighted land again, this time the island of Nendo, which they named "Santa Cruz". The Santa Ysabel had disappeared, however, and despite searches by the two smaller vessels, it could not be found. Arriving at what is now Graciosa Bay, a settlement was commenced. Relations with local islanders and their chief Malope started well, with food provided and assistance in constructing buildings. However, morale amongst the Spanish was low and sickness (almost certainly malaria) was rife. Manrique was murdered at the orders of, and in front of Mendaña, and shortly afterwards, Malope was killed by soldiers. Relations with the Islanders soon worsened.
Wracked by internal divisions and an increasing death toll, the settlement began to fall apart. Mendaña himself died on 18 October 1595, leaving his wife as heir and governor, her brother Lorenzo as captain-general. On 30 October, the decision was made to abandon the settlement. When the three ships departed on 18 November 1595, forty-seven people had died in the space of one month.
Pedro Fernandes de Queirós is credited with bringing the San Gerónimo safely into the Philippines without the aid of charts, arriving in Manila Bay on 11 February 1596. Over fifty people died on the twelve-week voyage from Santa Cruz, in part due to the lack of food supplies and allegedly Doña Isabel’s refusal to share out her private store of food and water. The frigate (carrying Mendaña's body) disappeared during the voyage, while the galiot San Felipe arrived in the southern end of Mindanao several days later.
See also viewtopic.php?f=2&t=6574.
Solomon Islands 200...15d;SG? French Polinesia1995;161f;SG730. Tuvalu 200…40c;SG? Marshall Islands1992;32c;SG677.
Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%81lvar ... a_de_Neira.
Attachments
img1761.jpg
img1740.jpg
img17410.jpg
img1581.jpg

Anatol
Posts: 1037
Joined: Sun Apr 12, 2009 2:13 pm

Re: Álvaro de Mendaña de Neira

Post by Anatol » Mon May 20, 2019 8:01 pm

Spain 2018;3,30e.
Attachments
img2701.jpg

Post Reply