Pedro Fernandez de Quiros (1565 - 1615)

When the Spanish explorer Medaña died in 1595, while trying to set up a colony on the island of Ndeni in the Solomons, his chief pilot, Pedro Fernandez de Quiros, took charge of the expedition.

The crew were sick, morale was low, and their ships were in bad shape. Against all odds, Quiros led the expedition safely back to Peru.

In 1605, he led another Spanish expedition to the Pacific to search for Terra Australis Incognita – the unknown southern land – and became the first European to find Vanuatu. Thinking it was the great unknown continent he sought, Quiros tried to establish a colony there. However, conflicts with the indigenous people and infighting among his own men saw his efforts fail.