Alvaro de Mendaña Neyra (Negra) (?1541 - 1595)

In 1567, the viceroy at Lima in Peru sent an exploratory mission into the Pacific, giving command to his 25-year-old nephew, the Spanish explorer Alvaro de Mendaña.

Mendaña and his crew became the first Europeans to find the Solomon Islands. They tried to colonise them, but after six months of fighting and illness they returned home, unsuccessful.

For years, Mendaña sought official support to return and try again to found a colony. In 1595, he got that support. After stopping at the Marquesas, where his crew killed about 200 inhabitants, Mendaña reached the Solomons and landed on Ndeni, which he named Santa Cruz. Again, setting up a colony proved impossible. Mendaña died there, sick and disappointed.