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Sometimes it can be difficult to appreciate that the first European voyage of discovery into the Pacific Ocean was over 470 years ago, although it was first encountered by a European in Mexico, Vasco Nunez, in 1513. Much has happened in the Pacific in the intervening years; some would say the Pacific would be a better place today if the Europeans had left well alone, but we shall not discuss that here.

Presented below is a list of key European expeditions to the Pacific
 

1521	Ferdinand Magellan	Spanish	Named the ocean the Pacific after sailing in it for 100 days with out encountering a single storm. Sailed though the Touamotus. Stopped in Guam. Sailed onto the Phillipines where he died
1567	Alvaro de Mendana	Spainish	Stopped in and tried to settle the Solomon Islands. So named because he though there was a wealth of gold to be found.
1577	Francis Drake	British	Sent to plunder Spanish shipping, which he did but also crossed the Pacific and ended up circumnavigating the world.
1595	Alvaro de Mendana	Spanish	Attempted to return to the Solomon Islands. Failed but encountered the Marquesas and Santa Cruz Islands, which he tried to settle, but died in the process.
1605	Pedro Fernandez de Quiros	Spanish	Tried to settle Vanuatu, and failed.
1605	Luis Vaez de Torres	Spanish	Got seperated from de Quiros and found the Torres Straights.
1619	Le Maire & Schouten	Dutch	Sailed through the Toamotus, the northern most islands of Togna and then on to New Guinea.
1639	Able Janszoon Tasman	Dutch	Failed to find any gold east of Japan
1642	Able Janszoon Tasman	Dutch	Found Tasmania which he named van Diemens Land. He made the first recorded contact with the Maori of New Zealand. He then went on to Tonga, Fiji, Ontong Java and New Ireland. Determined that New Guinea and Australia were actually two seperate land masses.
1699	William Dampier	British	Set foot on New Ireland and found the passage between New Britain and New Guinea
1722	Jacob Roggeveen	Dutch	Landed Sunday April 5, on what became known as the Easter Islands.
1766	Samuel Wallis	British	Landed at the Tuamotus, went on and spent a month in Tahiti. On leaving, sighted northern Tongan Islands and Wallis and Futuna and then passed through the western edge of the Marshall Islands.
1766	Phillip Carteret	British	Discovered the Pitcairn Islands and went onto Mururoa.He then relocated the Santa Cruz Islands and then the Solomon Islands of Malaita, Nissan and Buka. He then relocated New Ireland and New Britain and named the Admiralty Islands.
1766	Louis de Bougainville	French	Sailed to the Tuamotus and Tahiti. He sailed through Samoa, Futuna, Vanuatu, the Louisade Archipelago and onto the island of Bougainville in the northern Solomons.
1768	James Cook	British	Primarily to carry out measurements of the transit of Venus. Spent three months in Tahiti. Then sailed on and spent 6 months in New Zealand. He explored the east coast of Australia and the Torres Strait.
1769	Jean-Francois-Marie de Surville	French	Visited the Solomons and New Zealand and died in Peru
1770	Don Felipa Gonzales y Haedo	Spain	Claimed the Easter Islands for Spain
1771	Marc-Joseph Marion du Femse	French	Battled with aborigines in Tasmania, had two landing parties massacred by Maori in New Zealand and opened fire with cannon.
1771	De Kerguelen-Tremarec	French	Found the Kerguelen Islands
1771	Francois-Alesno de St Allouarn	French	Claimed Australian West coast for France
1772	James Cook	British	Visited New Zealand, Tahiti where they recruited local sailors, encountered the Cook Islands and Tonga and returned to New Zealand. He ventured south to Antarctica and then up to the Easter Islands, on to the Marquesas. He returned to Tahiti and then on to Vanuatu, New Caledonia and back to New Zealand.
1776	James Cook	British	First visited the Kerguelen Islands and then Tasmania and on to New Zealand. He visited Aitu and Mangaia in the Cooks, spent some time in Tonga and then went to Tahiti. Sailing north from Tahiti he encounter Hawaii. He stayed a few days and then went up to the Bering Sea. He returned to Hawaii, which he named the Sandwich Islands and was killed there.
1785	Jean-Francois de Galup de la Perouse	French	Visited the Easter Islands, Hawaii and the north west US. Headed back across the Pacific and found Necker Island and then went to the Marianas before exploring China and Japan. Headed down to Botany Bay and stopped in Samoa on the way and lost several crew in a skirmish. He passed through Tonga, went onto Botany Bay and then his ship disappeared in the Pacific.
1791	George Vancouver & Henry Roberts	British	Sailing for Tahiti from New Zealand they encountered the Chatam Island and then Rapa in the Austral Islands. Then sailed from Tahiti to Hawaii
1791	Antoine-Raymond-Joseph de Bruni d'Entrcasteaux	French	Sailed to Tasmania, New Caledonia, The Solomons, New Ireland and the Admirality Islands, searching for la Perouse's ship. After refitting in Moluccas he sailed to New Zealand, Tonga, New Caledonia and the Santa Cruz Islands where he found Vanikoro. They then passed through the Solomons, Louisade Archipelago, New Guinea, Dampier Straight and along north New Britain, here D'Entrecasteaux died
1800	Nicolas-Thomas Baudin	French	Another search for la Perouse. Unsucessful but returned with large amounts of documentation of Australian flora and fauna.