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State Library of New South Wales
Senor. El Capitan Pedro Fernandez de Quiros, que por mãdado de V. M. fuy y descubri tierras en la parte Austral in cognita Digo ...

Senor. El Capitan Pedro Fernandez de Quiros, que por mãdado de V. M. fuy y descubri tierras en la parte Austral in cognita Digo ...

1608
SAFE 1/5q
Block print on laid paper

Portuguese born Pedro Fernandes de Queirós (1563–1615) was an excellent navigator and cartographer, earning him a place as chief pilot on a Spanish voyage to colonise the Solomon Islands in 1595. Following this voyage to the Pacific Queirós became obsessed with seeking the mythical great southern continent – Terra Australis Incognita.

In 1602 Queirós approached Spain’s King Philip III to sponsor a new voyage of exploration with a letter of support from Pope Clement VIII. Within a year Queirós had obtained a royal order enabling the navigator to undertake an expedition for the discovery of the southern continent and ‘to win souls to heaven and kingdoms to the crown of Spain’.

In December 1605, Queirós – with Spanish navigator Luis Vaez de Torres as second in command – set out from Callao, Peru to realize his dream. The three ships sailed further south than ever recorded and in May 1606 sailed into a large bay of what they believed to be the great southern continent with Queirós naming it Austrialia del Espiritu Santo.

Upon departing the bay a bit over a month later into strong winds and a heavy sea, the flagship (San Pedro y Paulo) with an ill Queirós on board was permanently separated from the other two ships (San Pedro with Torres in command and the launch Los Tres Reyes). Ultimately Queirós’ ship headed back to Spain by 1607 where he spent the rest of his life seeking royal support for a return to Austrialia del Espiritu Santo to continue his spiritual mission.

‘Memorial’ is a formal term for a petition for funding.


Philip III of Spain inherited a bankrupt nation when he succeeded his father to the throne in 1598. In 1599, his first full year as monarch, almost half of royal income was pledged to debt repayment, and expenses were nearly triple the unpledged income.


Spain’s major Pacific exploratory expeditions were launched from its colonial bases on the west coast of South America, most usually from Callao, Peru.


Portugal became a subject to the King of Spain when the two countries were dynastically united in 1580.


This is fourth in a series of fourteen memorials printed between 1607 and 1614 at Pedro Fernandes de Queirós' expense for presentation at the Council of the Indies. These ‘presentation memorials’ are among the most valuable of all printed Australiana.


Pedro Fernández de Quirós is the Spanish form of the navigator’s name.


The Queirós expedition consisted of two ships and a zabra or launch. The ship chosen for Queirós was named San Pedro y San Pablo, 150 tons. Torres' ship was named the San Pedro, 120 tons. The launch was named Los Tres Reyes.


The idea of a great southern landmass at the bottom of the globe to balance the known landmass in the north originated with the Greek civilisation.

Once separated from Pedro Fernandes de Queirós, Luis Vaez de Torres led the remaining two ships along the coast of Austrialia del Espiritu Santo – soon confirming that the land mass was a large island rather than a continent. Torres then sailed along the southern coast of New Guinea through the strait that now bears his name. Torres finally reached Manila, the capital of the Philippines, in May 1607 where he wrote a report of his trip to the King. After this time Torres and his crew disappeared from the historical record.

The charting of the Torres Strait by Luis Vaez de Torres (second in charge on Queirós’ 1605–6 voyage) was kept secret by the Spanish authorities until British forces captured Manila in 1762 and found it identified on navigational documents.


Voyages of discovery were often motivated by a combination of a fever for riches (gold, silver, timber, silk and spices) and Christian fervor.