The history of Patagonia is a dramatic account of exploration,
endurance, su_ering and survival, full of extraordinary characters and
amazing natural settings. Covering three centuries since the
Renaissance, the stories grip the imagination and invite you to explore
this great virgin territory. Venice _ourished through the silk and spice
routes maintaining a trade monopoly. An amazing discovery made history
in 1520, the Strait of Magellan in Patagonia opened the new Southern
route to the Indies and the circumnavigation around the world. The trade
hegemony over the Indies was fractured, thus balancing the power of
commerce towards Spain. These explorations started the search for El
Dorado, the golden city that tempted Europeans to explore even further
the great territory of Patagonia. Charles Darwin#s theory of evolution
was inspired in Patagonia with the analysis of its _ora and fauna,
including the biggest bird on earth, the condor. The discovery of the
Beagle Channel by Robert Fitz Roy in 1830 was also a historical
accomplishment. Previous visitors such as Sir Francis Drake and Sir
Thomas Cavendish from England, sailed the Southern ocean where the
Menendez family later built an empire in Punta Arenas and Tierra del
Fuego.
The history of Patagonia is a dramatic account of exploration,
endurance, su_ering and survival, full of extraordinary characters and
amazing natural settings. Covering three centuries since the
Renaissance, the stories grip the imagination and invite you to explore
this great virgin territory. Venice _ourished through the silk and spice
routes maintaining a trade monopoly. An amazing discovery made history
in 1520, the Strait of Magellan in Patagonia opened the new Southern
route to the Indies and the circumnavigation around the world. The trade
hegemony over the Indies was fractured, thus balancing the power of
commerce towards Spain. These explorations started the search for El
Dorado, the golden city that tempted Europeans to explore even further
the great territory of Patagonia. Charles Darwin#s theory of evolution
was inspired in Patagonia with the analysis of its _ora and fauna,
including the biggest bird on earth, the condor. The discovery of the
Beagle Channel by Robert Fitz Roy in 1830 was also a historical
accomplishment. Previous visitors such as Sir Francis Drake and Sir
Thomas Cavendish from England, sailed the Southern ocean where the
Menendez family later built an empire in Punta Arenas and Tierra del
Fuego.
