From the perspective of far-away Europe, the southern tip of America was long seen as inhospitable and worthless [the title of a recent book by a Scottish author sums this up rather nicely -- "Why Patagonia?"].

Spanish attempts in the 16th century to colonize the Magellan Strait (discovered in 1520) were unsuccessful. From then onward, the region called Patagonia was first and foremost an obstacle on the long sea route to Spain's colonies of the Pacific: its importance lay exclusively in the strategic southern sea passage.

For more than two centuries after its discovery, the best known British to come this way were adventurers, such as Drake and Cavendish, looking for spoils in Spain's distant dominions.

The passage to the Pacific