Guide to the Manuscript of Hernando Gallego (as filmed by the AJCP), 1567-1569

Summary

Collection number:

M1557

Creator:

Gallego, Hernando

Extent:

1 item

Language:

Spanish; Castilian

Preferred citation:

Acknowledgement of use of this material should refer to the location of the original material and to the Australian Joint Copying Project.

Items from this collection should include references to the location of the original material and to the AJCP nla.obj number, which serves as the online identifier for the digital copy.

Example: M Series: Journal of Capt. James Cook, 18 February-23 September 1770, British Library Add. MS 27885 (AJCP ref: http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-987654321).

Availability:

Available

Access conditions:

Available for reference.

Background

Content Summary:

A Spanish copy of the account of the Pacific voyage of Mendana and in particular his discovery of the Solomon Islands in 1567.

Biographical / Historical:

Pilot on the Spanish ship Los Reyes, commanded by Alvaro de Mendana, on a voyage from Callao to the Western Pacific 1567-69.

Very little is known of the early life of Hernando Gallego. He was born, possibly in 1514, in the town of La Caruna in Galicia, Spain, and went to sea at a very early age. In 1557 he and his brother Pedro were selected by Juan Ladrilleros as pilots for two ships sent from Valdivia to explore the southern coast of Chile as far as the Straits of Magellan. For the next ten years he seems to have been a pilot on the Pacific coast. In 1567 he was selected as chief pilot on the expedition led by Alvaro de Mendana which explored the western Pacific Ocean.

Alvaro de Mendana y Neyra (1542-1595) was the nephew of the Viceroy of Peru. He was commissioned by his uncle to discover rich islands that lay between New Guinea (named in 1545) and the American coast. Stories of islands of gold had been circulated for several years and, in particular, a Spanish soldier, Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa (1532-1592), claimed that an Inca voyage to the western Pacific had discovered great riches. Sarmiento expected to be given command of the expedition, but the youthful Mendana was given preference. Mendana, Sarmiento and Gallego sailed on the Los Reyes, while the pilot Pedro de Ortega was on the Todos Santos.

The two ships left Callao on 19 November 1567 and sailed west south west for 26 days. Not finding any land, Gallego recommended a more northerly course. After passing south of the Marquesas, they sighted an island, probably Nukufetau, on 15 January 1568. On 7 February 1568 they reached the Solomon Islands, landing on the island of Santa Ysabel (named after the patron saint of the voyage). They built a brigantine, the Santiago, and Gallego and Ortega used it to explore the island and surrounding seas. On 19 April 1568 they discovered Guadalcanal. On 8 May 1568 the two ships sailed to Guadalcanal, while Gallego in the brigantine sailed to Malaita, Ulawa and Ugi.

On 7 August 1568 a 'parliament' was summoned to discuss the future of the expedition. Mendana and Sarminento argued that they should form a settlement on one of the islands, convert the Islanders, and continue the search for gold. Gallego and Ortega considered this impractical, in view of the hostility of the Solomon Islanders, and pointed to the poor condition of the Spanish ships. Their view prevailed and they sailed eastwards from San Cristobal on 11 August 1568. The Los Reyes reached the Californian coast on 19 December 1568. After resting at Santiago de Colima for 40 days, the ships sailed southwards and eventually reached Callao on 26 July 1569. A third of the crew perished on the voyage.

Mendana did not name the Solomon Islands, but the name soon came into use. Gallego rightly guessed that the Solomon Islands were not far distant from New Guinea, but he greatly underestimated their distance from Peru. Partly for that reason, later voyages in search of the islands of gold were unsuccessful, and it was only in the late eighteenth century that French and British navigators re-discovered the Solomon Islands.

Related

Existence and Location of Copies:

The original AJCP microfilm of the records filmed from this collection is available at the National Library of Australia [https://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn735316] as well as other institutions holding AJCP microfilm.

Existence and Location of Originals:

British Library, 96 Euston Road, London. Collection reference: Add MS 17623. For further information see The British Library (http://searcharchives.bl.uk/IAMS_VU2:IAMS040-002027876).

There are three known copies of Gallego's account: the first in the British Library, the second in the National Library of Spain, and the third in the National Library of New Zealand (formerly in the possession of Lord Amherst). The latter manuscript is translated in Lord Amherst and Basil Thomson, eds. The discovery of the Solomon Islands by Alvaro de Mendana in 1568 (London, Hakluyt Society, 1901). The British Library manuscript is partly translated and partly summarised in H.B. Guppy, The Solomon Islands and their natives (London, Swan Sonnenschein, Lowrey, 1887).

Conditions Governing Access:

Available for Access.

Conditions Governing Use:

Readers wishing to publish or reproduce documents should seek permission, in the first instance, from the British Library. For more information visit: How I use the images I order?-The British Library [https://www.bl.uk/help/how-can-i-use-the-images-i-order].

Preferred citation:

Acknowledgement of use of this material should refer to the location of the original material and to the Australian Joint Copying Project.

Items from this collection should include references to the location of the original material and to the AJCP nla.obj number, which serves as the online identifier for the digital copy.

Example: M Series: Journal of Capt. James Cook, 18 February-23 September 1770, British Library Add. MS 27885 (AJCP ref: http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-987654321).

Location of this collection:

National Library of Australia

Parkes Place

Canberra ACT 2600, Australia

Contact:

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