Geographers differ greatly concerning the situation of the Solomon islands. The most probable opinion is, that they are the cluster which comprizes what has since been called New Britain, New Ireland, &c.
On the 9th of April, 1595, Mendana, with intention to settle these islands, sailed from Callao, with four ships; and his discoveries in his route to the West, were the Marquesas, in the latitude of 10° South;—the island of St. Bernardo, which I take to be the same that Commodore Byron calls the Island of Danger;—after that, Solitary island, in the latitude 10° 40ʹ South, longitude 178° West;—and, lastly, Santa Cruz, which is, undoubtedly, the same that Captain Carteret calls Egmont Island.
In this last island, Mendana, with many of his companions, died; and the shattered remains of the squadron were conducted to Manilla, by Pedro Fernandez de Quiros, the chief pilot.
This same Quiros was the first sent out, with the sole view of discovering a Southern Continent; and, indeed, he seems to have been the first who had any idea of the existence of one.
He sailed from Callao the 21st of December, 1605, as pilot of the fleet, commanded by Luis Paz de Torres, consisting of two ships and a tender; and steering to the W. S. W. on the 26th of January, 1606, being then, by their reckoning, a thousand Spanish leagues from the coast of America, they discovered a small low island in latitude 25° South.—Two days after, they discovered another that was high, with a plain on the top. This is, probably, the same that Captain Carteret calls Pitcairn’s Island.
After leaving these islands, Quiros seems to have directed his course to the W. N. W. and N. W. to 10° or 11° South latitude, and then westward, till he arrived at the Bay of St. Philip and Jago, in the island of Tierra del Espiritu Santo. In this route he discovered several islands; probably, some of those that have been seen by later navigators.
On leaving the Bay of St. Philip and St. Jago, the two ships were separated. Quiros, with the Capitana, stood to the north, and returned to New Spain, after having suffered greatly for want of provisions and water.—Torres, with the Almiranta and the tender, steered to the west, and seems to have been the first who sailed between New Holland and New Guinea.
The next attempt to make discoveries in the South Pacific Ocean was conducted by Le Maire and Schouten.—They sailed from the Texel on the 14th of June, 1615, with the ships Concord and Horn. The latter was burnt by accident in Port Desire. With the other, they discovered the Strait that bears the name of Le Maire, and were the first who ever entered the Pacific Ocean, by the way of Cape Horn.
They discovered the island of Dogs, in latitude 15° 15ʹ South, longitude 136° 30ʹ West;—Sondre Grondt in 15° South latitude, and 143° 10ʹ West longitude;—Waterland, in 14° 46ʹ South, and 144° 10ʹ West;—and, twenty-five leagues westward of this, Fly island, in latitude 15° 20ʹ;—Traitor’s and Cocos islands, in latitude 15° 43ʹ S. longitude 173° 13ʹ W.—Two degrees more to the westward, the Isle of Hope;—and, in the latitude of 14° 56ʹ South, longitude 179° 30ʹ East, Horn island.
They next coasted the north side of New Britain and New Guinea, and arrived at Batavia in October, 1616.