Patagonia

History of Patagonia from Discovery to Conquest. The history of Patagonia is a dramatic account of exploration, endurance, suffering 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 flourished 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 lndies and the circumnavigation around the world. The trade hegemony over the lndies 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 flora 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.