Viceroy of Peru in the context of Alvaro de Mendaña de Neira

The Marquesas Islands (/mɑːrˈkeɪsəs/ mar-KAY-səss; French: Îles Marquises or Archipel des Marquises or Marquises [maʁkiz]; Marquesan: Te Henua ʻEnana (North Marquesan) and Te Fenua ʻEnata (South Marquesan), both meaning "the land of men") are a group of volcanic islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in the southern Pacific Ocean. Their highest point is the peak of Mount Oave (French: Mont Oave) on Ua Pou island, at 1,230 m (4,035 ft) above sea level.

Archaeological research suggests the islands were settled in the 10th century AD by voyagers from West Polynesia. Over the centuries that followed, the islands have maintained a "remarkably uniform culture, biology and language". The Marquesas were named after the 16th-century Spanish Viceroy of Peru, the Marquis of Cañete (Spanish: Marqués de Cañete), by navigator Álvaro de Mendaña, who visited them in 1595.

Álvaro de Mendaña y Neira (or Neyra) (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈalβaɾo ðe menˈdaɲa i ˈnejɾa]; 1 October 1542 – 18 October 1595) was a Spanish navigator, explorer, and cartographer, best known for two of the earliest recorded expeditions across the Pacific Ocean in 1567 and 1595. His voyages led to the discovery of the Marquesas, Cook Islands, and Solomons among other archipelagos. Born in Congosto, in El Bierzo Region (León), he was the nephew of Lope García de Castro, viceroy of Peru.

García Hurtado de Mendoza y Manrique, 5th Marquis of Cañete (July 21, 1535 – May 19, 1609) was a Spanish Governor of Chile, and later Viceroy of Peru (from January 8, 1590 to July 24, 1596). He is often known simply as "Marquis of Cañete". Belonging to an influential family of Spanish noblemen Hurtado de Mendoza successfully fought in the Arauco War during his stay as Governor of Chile. The city of Mendoza is named after him. In his later position as Viceroy of Peru he sponsored Álvaro de Mendaña's transpacific expedition of 1595, who named the Marquesas Islands after him.

Pedro Antonio Fernández de Castro, 10th Count of Lemos (20 October 1632 – 6 December 1672) was a Spanish nobleman who was Viceroy of Peru from 1667 until his death.

The Royal Army of Peru (Spanish: Ejército Real del Perú), also known as the National Army (Spanish: Ejército Nacional), was the army organised by the viceroy of Peru, José Fernando de Abascal, to protect the Hispanic Monarchy in the Viceroyalty of Peru—and its surrounding provinces of Charcas, Chile and Quito—of the revolutions that convulsed the Spanish Empire at the beginning of the 19th century. This army was made up of 80% Creoles and indigenous Peruvians.