Pedro Fernandes de Queirós (1563–1614), also recorded in Spanish history as Pedro Fernández de Quirós, was a Portuguese navigator who achieved prominence while serving the Spanish Crown. He is chiefly remembered for directing several significant Spanish voyages of exploration across the Pacific Ocean during the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries.
Queirós played a key role in the 1595–1596 expedition led by Álvaro de Mendaña y Neira. Following this, he commanded his own major expedition from 1605 to 1606, which crossed the Pacific Ocean in a dedicated quest to locate the southern landmass known as Terra Australis.
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