The Strait of Magellan

After leaving the bay of São Vicente, the expedition of Joris Spilbergen sailed further south along the South American coast. It reached the Strait of Magellan on the 8th of March 1615, but some of its ships struggled to enter the Strait. Further, a mutiny had broken out on the Seagulls, after it entered the Strait. It was crushed, but not long after another mutiny succeeded and the Meeuw sailed away from the expedition. In early April the entire expedition had finally succeeded in entering the strait. It took a bit over a month to pass through the strait, considerably faster than Spilbergen’s predecessors. The ships briefly lost each other in the first days, but on 16 April found each other again in Cordes’ Bay.

This map shows the Strait of Magellan. It names several capes and bays that were important for those passing through it. It also shows the Dutch making contact with the people that lived in the region and some of the area’s plants, trees and animals, most prominently a large penguin. A. Is the Meeuw, which was captured by mutineers and sailed out of the strait. B. Are the five other ships, which sailed through the strait successfully. C. Is a depiction of the people seen on the south side (that is: on Tierra del Fuego). D. Shows how a group of the indigenous people of the region attack and kill four of the expedition’s crew. E. Is a group of indigenous people who came to the Dutch on the beach and conversed with them in ‘a strange language’. F. Shows the same pouring Spanish wine. G. is a plant with “tasty” red berries, which grew there abundantly. H. Is a penguin, which were present in great numbers in the strait. I. Are some sailors, who are shooting birds on the shore. K. Shows the canoes of the indigenous population.