Islands Named After Spanish and Portuguese Quiz

Answer: Tristan da Cunha

The island is named after Portuguese explorer and naval commander Tristao da Cunha (ca.1460-ca.1540). It now belongs to Britain and is a dependency of St.Helena.

Answer: Rodrigues Island

Diogo Rodrigues was a 16th century Portuguese explorer of the Indian Ocean, after whom the island of Rodrigues is named.

Answer: Juan Fernandez Islands

Juan Fernandez (1536-1604) was a Spanish explorer and navigator. He discovered the Juan Fernandez Islands west of Valparaíso, Chile. He also discovered the Pacific islands of San Félix and San Ambrosio.

Answer: Diego Garcia

According to some sources, the island is named after two Portuguese navigators, one called Diego and one called Garcia. The island is the site of an Anglo-American naval base.

Answer: Juan de Nova

The island is named after explorer Joao de Nova. He was born in Spain, but was sent to Portugal by his parents as a child. He was the first European to see Ascension (1501) and St.Helena (1502).

Answer: Martin Vaz Islands

The major islands of the archipelago are Trindade and Martin Vaz. The islands were discovered in 1512 by the Portuguese Juan da Nova. In 1768 the French explorer LaPerouse wanted to land here, but two of his sailors lost their lives by the landing experiment. In honor of a dead midshipman, LaPerouse named the group Martin Vaz.

Answer: Fernando de Noronha

Portuguese explorer Fernao de Noronha explored the Atlantic Ocean. Modern historians attribute to him the discovery of the Fernando de Noronha archipelago in 1501-1502.

Answer: Archipelago de Colon

The islands are more known to the non-Spanish speaking as the Galapagos Islands. They were named after Christopher Columbus (Cristoforo Colon) at the 400 years anniversary for his "discovery" of America.

Answer: Cortes Island

Cortes Island and nearby Hernando Island were named after the Spanish conqueror of Mexico, Hernando Cortes. This unlikely link was established by the Spanish cartographer, Valdez, who charted these waters in 1793. The Spanish never settled the area, but Cortes and other Spanish names remained.

Answer: Fernando Po

Fernao do Po, also Fernando Poo, was a Portuguese navigator and explorer of the West African coast. He was the discoverer, probably in 1472, of the island in the Gulf of Guinea which until recently bore a version of his name, Fernando Po or Fernando Poo. It is presently named Bioko and is part of Equatorial Guinea.

Answer: Mascarene Islands

Portuguese navigator Diogo Rodrigues named the islands of Reunion, Mauritius, and Rodrigues the Mascarene or Mascarenhas Islands, after his countryman Pedro Mascarenhas. Pedro Mascarenhas (1470-1555) was a Portuguese explorer and colonial administrator. He was the first European to discover the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia in 1512.

Answer: Diego Ramirez Islands

The islands contain the southernmost point of South America (including islands), a title often incorrectly awarded to Cape Horn.
They were first sighted on 12 February 1619 by the Garcia de Nodal expedition, and named in honor of cosmographer Diego Ramirez de Arellano.

Answer: Mozambique Island

Mozambique is named after Mouzinho de Albuquerque, 19th Century Portuguese colonist who put down nationalist rebellions in the territory and thus established effective Portuguese control. Some sources, however, claim that the island is named after Arab sheik Musa Mbiki.

Answer: Bermuda Islands

The main island is called Great Bermuda or just Bermuda. The island group comprises 300 islands, 20 are inhabited. The islands are named after Juan de Bermudez.

Answer: Diego de Almagro Island

Diego de Almagro (ca. 1475 -1538) was a Spanish conquistador and a companion and later rival of Francisco Pizarro. He participated in the Spanish conquest of Peru and is credited as the first European discoverer of Chile.