| Fernandes de Quieros, Portuguese
navigator of the Pacific (c.1565-1615), known generally by his Castilian
name.
Born in Evora, Quirós had previously sailed with
the galleons plying between the Philippine Islands and Mexico, and had
acquired a profound knowledge of navigation. In 1595 he served as pilot on
the second voyage of Alvaro de Mendaña de
Nehra, from Peru to the Marquesas
Islands and the Santa Cruz Islands in the Pacific. Alarmed by the weak
leadership and barbaric maltreatment of natives, he often quarrelled with
Mendaña. After the death of Mendaña and Baretto (October 1595), Quirós
led the survivors back to Manila, and subsequently returned to Acapulco in
Mexico (arrival 11 December 1596). |
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| Unable to secure a
commission for a further Pacific voyage of his own, he visited Rome in
1600, where he obtained the patronage of Pope Clement
VIII and the Spanish ambassador. Having obtained the endorsement of Philip
III of Spain, Quirós returned to Peru in 1603 with the intention of
finding and settling the mythical Terra Australis. With three ships, San
Pedro y Paulo, San Pedrico (under Luis
Vaez de Torres) and Los Tres Reyes (under Bernal Camino),
Quirós left Callao on 21 December 1605 with 300 crew and soldiers.
Sailing first to the southwest, Quirós reached
120°W 26°S, but the weather deteriorated, forcing a change of course to
the northwest. On route he sighted La Encarnacion (Ducie Island),
Henderson Island and Marutea (in the Tuamotu
Archipelago). He landed on La Conversion de San Pablo (Hao Island) and
Isla de Pescado (Caroline Island, often confused with San Bernardo (Puka
Puka), which yielded food but no water. Continuing west, he next
reached Gente Hermosa (Rakahanga Atoll), and eventually Nuestra Senora del
Socorro (Taumaco, near the Santa Cruz Islands), where he heard reports of
a large continent to the southwest. Sailing southeast he rounded Tucopia
(Tikopia) and, after continuing south for a time (to 24.4.06), left the
ships "to the Will of God". God's will then steered them
southwest to Santa Maria (Gaua in Vanuatu)
and La Australia del Espiritu Santo (Espiritu
Santo), where the colony of Nova Jerusalem (Vera Cruz) was established
(14 May 1606) in the Bay of San Felipe y Santiago (Big Bay).
With all the trappings of a Quixotic burlesque,
Quirós then founded a new Order of Chivalry, making all his men Knights
of the Holy Ghost. The colony was soon abandoned due to native
hostlity and disagreements among the crew. De Quirós, in the San
Pedro y Paulo, became separated from the other ships in bad weather
and was prevented from putting back to shore. Missing the Santa Cruz
Islands, he sailed to 38°N and returned via the North Pacific route to
California and Acapulco, arriving 23 November 1606.
Criticised for his failure, Quirós wandered
Mexico and then returned to Madrid in 1607. He spent the next seven years
in poverty, wrote fifty memorials of the voyage (only eight of which have
survived), and harassed Philip III for funds to repeat the voyage. So that
his discoveries should not fall into foreign hands many of his memorials
were recalled and he was despatched to Peru with pretended orders for
assistance in further voyages. He died in Panama (1615/14) while on route,
unaware of the deception. The fate of the survivors on Espiritu Santo is
dealt with in the article for Torres.
For more
information on Pedro Fernandez De Quirós,
go to: |
