Domingo de Bonechea

Domingo Bernardo de Bonechea Andonaegui (Basque: Domingo Bonetxea Andonaegi), born on September 21, 1713, in Getaria, Basque Country, Spain, died in Tahiti on January 26, 1775, was a captain in the Spanish Royal Navy and an explorer for the Spanish crown. He is known for having tried to incorporate Tahiti into the Spanish Empire.

Domingo de Bonechea Andonaegui did not pass through naval college or formal navigational studies. He served in the Spanish navy as a pilot from 1732 to 1740, when he became midshipman (Alferez) of a frigate. He took part in the Battle of Toulon (22/23 February 1744) He was promoted to Midshipman of a Ship of the Line in 1749 and to Frigate lieutenant in 1751.

In 1754 he was promoted to lieutenant of a ship of the line. His first command seems to have been the Corvette Maite (18)in which he took part in the action in which Spain lost Havana to the British Admiral Pocock in 1762. After a desperate action on June 28 against the British Captain George Mackenzie he surrendered at Mariel together with the Virganza (24) commanded by Diego Argote. He was exonerated of all blame and acquitted with honour.

In 1766 he became a frigate captain and from 1767 commanded the frigate Santa Maria Magdalena, afterwards renamed Aguila. Together with the Lievre, he took supplies to the Falkland Islands and reached the port of Concepcion (Chile) on 14 April 1768. From there he continued on to Callao (Peru) and seems to have remained in the region for several years.

Domingo de Bonechea's exploratory voyages were commissioned by the Viceroy of Peru, Manuel de Amat y Junyent, who was concerned that Captain Cook's explorations might lead to the creation of British bases from which to attack Peru. De Bonechea reached Tahiti only weeks after Cook's first voyage, and indeed found an axe left there by Cook's expedition. He recorded a great many local native words.