Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego, Strait of Magellan. Interesting facts about Tierra del Fuego

Fire Gehenna Initially - the name of the valley of Ennom (Hinnom) near Jerusalem, where the ancient Jews sacrificed children to the pagan gods Baal and Ashtarte, betraying them to be burned (Old Testament, Fourth Book of Kings, ch. 23, art. 10). Serves synonymous with hellish torments and the most

Patagonia The southern part of South America has long been called Patagonia. This name comes from the word "Patagonians", that is, paws. This is exactly what Ferdinand Magellan called the natives, having met them on the southern, rather deserted shores of South America during his famous

Patagonia The southern part of South America has long been called Patagonia. This name comes from the word "Patagonians", that is, paws. This is exactly what Ferdinand Magellan called the natives, having met them on the southern, rather deserted shores of South America during his famous

Remember how Neil Armstrong famously said when he called his first step on the lunar surface a giant leap for mankind? But long before him, such feats were performed by the Middle Ages. For example, the discoveries of Magellan became a real revolution in people's ideas about their planet and made them doubt the inviolability of the dogmas of the Catholic Church. So who was the person who proved that the Earth is round, who discovered where the Strait of Magellan is located on the map? What were the consequences of his discoveries for the development of science? To find answers to these questions, it is worth getting to know historical facts, most of which are known thanks to Antonio Pigafetta, an Italian navigator who participated in the first round-the-world voyage.

Ferdinand Magellan: biography

Unfortunately, today no one can say exactly where the first European who circumnavigated the South American continent was born. However, most researchers believe that this event took place on October 17, 1480 in Porto or Sabroz. At the same time, according to historical documents, as a teenager, Fernand served as a page for Queen Leonora of Avisa, so it is assumed that he was of noble origin.

When Magellan was 25 years old, he went to India as part of the squadron of Francisco Almeida. After serving the prescribed 5 years, Fernand tries to return to his homeland, but by chance he is forced to stay in India, where he seeks the favor of the colonial authorities and gains great prestige among the military. Thus, the future great traveler ends up in Lisbon only in 1512. And he participates in the war with Morocco, during which, with his unauthorized actions, he provokes the wrath of King Manuel the First. During the audience, Magellan asks the monarch for permission to go on a sea expedition, but is refused. At the same time, Manuel the First makes him understand that he will not mind if he begins to serve another overlord. Interestingly, if you knew then that the future discoveries of Magellan would glorify Spain, would he have given him similar advice?

What preceded the first round-the-world trip

Insulted, Magellan leaves his homeland and goes to Spain, buys a house in Seville, marries, and has a son. Having acquired useful connections, Magellan turns to the organization that finances sea expeditions - the "Chamber of Contracts", but they refuse to allocate money for the implementation of his project to find a western route to the Spice Islands. At the same time, Juan de Aranda is showing personal interest, demanding 1/8 of the possible profits, and the King of Spain, Charles the First, gives permission to outfit five ships. Now you know who Magellan was before his famous journey. What he discovered will be told later.

Magellan: Expected Economic Benefits

Although Columbus made Spain a superpower, yet the main goal of this expedition, namely reaching the shores of India by the western route, was not achieved. But it promised huge economic benefits! In particular, in this way it would be proved that the famous Spice Islands, which went to Portugal under the Treaty of Tordesillas, are located in the "Spanish" South Sea. In turn, this meant that the expected discoveries of Magellan could significantly expand the possessions of Charles the First and end the Portuguese monopoly on the trade in spices, which were then worth their weight in gold.

Travel to Brazil and Patagonia

The heroic maritime epic of Magellan began on September 20, 1519, when 5 ships, supplied with food for 2 years in advance, left San Lucar. In total, up to 280 people took part in the expedition, 100 of whom were equipped as soldiers. In addition, the ships were equipped with 10 cannons and 50 arquebuses. The main ship - "Trinidad" - and the caravel "Santiago" were controlled by Magellan himself and another Portuguese, João Serran. The remaining three ships went on a campaign led by high-born Spanish hidalgos, who agreed to stage a mutiny if it seemed to them that Commander Fernand had gone astray.

Having crossed the Atlantic Ocean with great difficulty, on November 29 Magellan's expedition reached the coast of Brazil and began to explore the shores of La Plata, hoping that this was the strait through which one could get to the "South Sea". Convinced of the erroneousness of this assumption, the squadron proceeded further south, along the coast of the South American continent and, having met penguins along the way, mistook them for natives. The wandering continued until the end of March 1420, when Magellan decided to get up for the winter and cut the crew's rations. During the winter, the Spaniards met with the locals, who walked around with hay wrapped around their feet. And they called them Patagonians (big-footed), and their country Patagonia.

Strait of Magellan

On October 21, 1520, the ships of the expedition find themselves at a narrow strait. The ships "San Antonio" and "Concepcion" are sent for reconnaissance, which miraculously manage to avoid death during a sudden storm. However, as they say, there would be no happiness, but misfortune helped. At the moment when the wave carried the ship to the shore, they fell into a narrow passage, the study of which showed that salty water, and the lot does not reach the shore. Both ships return to Magellan and report the good news that the sea route to the "South Sea" has been found, and many years later it is designated as the Strait of Magellan on the world map. Unfortunately, this discovery, neither at that historical moment, nor centuries later, could bring mankind any benefit from an economic point of view, since this route is extremely long and dangerous for navigation. However, he gave a huge impetus to the development of such sciences as cartography and geography.

Islands of Tierra del Fuego discovered by Magellan

To the south of the discovered strait, the members of the expedition saw land on which lights lit up at night. Magellan mistakenly assumed that this was the northern tip of Terra Australis Incognita - the southern mainland - and called it Tierra del Fuego. As it turned out later, it was an archipelago consisting of 40 thousand islands and islets. Thus, to the questions: "What did Ferdinand Magellan do?", "What did he discover?" you can rightfully name Tierra del Fuego as an answer. Today everyone knows that the Strait of Magellan separates the archipelago from the mainland, and on the largest of its islands - Isla Grande - there is the most Southern City planets - Ushuaia.

Discovery of the Marianas

Having crossed the strait in 38 days, the ships of the expedition entered the ocean and sailed about 17,000 km before the first desert island who met on their way. The sailors were surprised, since before that it was assumed that America was not far from the coast of Asia. Then Magellan realized that he had revealed to the world the true relationship between the land and the waters of the oceans, and also gave people an idea of ​​the size of the Earth. It was not possible to land on the ground, and they continued their journey until they reached the island of Guam, which belongs to the group Mariana Islands. It turned out that the locals had no idea about private property, and therefore tried to carry away from the ships any items that came to hand. That is why the Spaniards called the islands Landrones, which translates as thieves. There the travelers stocked up on food and fresh water and continued on their way.

Discovery of the Philippine Islands

Since it was obvious that the expedition was already in the Eastern Hemisphere, Magellan, fearing meetings with the Portuguese, sought to stay away from the waters where the shipping lanes passed. Soon his ships reached unknown islands. It was decided to call them the archipelago of St. Lazar, and later they were renamed the Philippine Islands. Homonkhom was chosen for the landing, so when answering the question: "What is the name of the first island, discovered by Magellan in Asia?", it should be pointed to him.

Traveler's death

Today, everyone knows what lands Magellan discovered. However, few know the details of his death.

So, how did the man who was the first of the people who managed to circumnavigate the South American continent meet death? It all started with the fact that the leader of Mactan Island refused to obey the ruler of neighboring Humabon, who swore allegiance to the Spanish crown and even was baptized, along with his family and close nobles. Magellan decided to show local residents that Europeans value and protect their vassals, and went to pacify the recalcitrant Maktans. At the same time, he did not calculate that the natives, who had time to learn the methods of warfare by the Europeans, no longer treated them as celestials. In addition, Magellan's military expedition was poorly prepared, and the Spaniards did not calculate that their ships would not be able to get close enough to the coast. Almost immediately after the start of the battle, Magellan's army suffered great damage, as the native warriors aimed their spears at the unprotected legs of the Spanish soldiers, and when they tried to get to their ships, they began to finish them off with arrows. The same fate befell Commander Fernand, who, wanting to cover his retreating comrades-in-arms, remained to fight in the water with a handful of loyal warriors, but was wounded first in the face and then pierced with spearheads. So one of them died the greatest travelers in the history of mankind. However, he forever entered his name in the annals of world history, and today every schoolchild knows which strait Magellan discovered.

The further fate of the sailors of the expedition

The death of Magellan and eight of his associates undermined the prestige of the Spaniards in the eyes of the natives. Therefore, Humabonu decides to get rid of the aliens and arranges a dinner party, during which he cracks down on a significant part of the commanders. The rest have to flee. Finally, reaching the Spice Islands, the surviving members of Magellan's expedition buy goods and are going back when they learn that the Portuguese king has declared Magellan a deserter and issued an order to detain his ships. At that moment, only two ships remain afloat, the commanders of which decide to go home in different ways. So the ship "Trinidad" is captured by the Portuguese, and members of its crew end up in penal servitude in India. The fate of those who go to Spain on the "Victoria", under the command of Juan Elcanto, through the Cape of Good Hope is quite different. At the cost of incredible efforts, they managed to get to Seville. Thus, before answering the questions: "Who is Magellan?", "What did he discover?", It is worth considering. After all, what they call him the first traveler who made circumnavigation, is not entirely correct. Moreover, he never set himself such a goal, since his only desire was to find a western route along which spices could be brought to Spain and profit from it.

Ferdinand Magellan: what he discovered

Such a short life, only 40 years long, but what brilliant results! It is these thoughts that arise when you read the story of the journey that Magellan made. What did you discover? The famous strait, named after him, Tierra del Fuego, Mariana and Philippine Islands. And most importantly, Magellan proved that one can get from Europe to Asia not only by going around Africa, but also moving in a westerly direction.

Magellan raised the admiral's flag on the hundred-ton ship Trinidad. Spaniards were appointed as captains of the remaining ships - the royal controller of the expedition Juan Cartagena ("San Antonio", 120 tons), Gaspar Quesada ("Concepción", 90 tons), Luis Mendoza ("Victoria", 85 tons) and Juan Serrano ("Sant -Iago", 75 tons). The crew of the entire flotilla consisted of 319 people of more than 10 nationalities, and among the 26 freelance participants was the Italian Antonio Pigafetta, thanks to whom (as well as assistant navigator Francisco Albo) this expedition became part of the history of navigation.

The flotilla left the port of San Lucar on September 20, 1519. And already in the first weeks of the voyage, problems began, caused by the ambitions of the Spanish captains. The royal controller of the expedition of Cartagena demanded that the admiral coordinate with him any change in the course of the flotilla. Magellan's reaction was brief and expressive: "Your duty is to follow my flag by day and my lantern by night." When, a few days later, Cartagena began to “emerge” again, Magellan grabbed him by the collar and put him under arrest on the Victoria, and appointed his relative Alvara di Meshkita as the captain of the San Antonio.

Having passed the Canary Islands at the end of September, on November 29 the flotilla reached the coast of Brazil, on December 13 - Guanabara Bay, and on December 26 - La Plata, the mouth of the Parana River. Due to the high qualification of the expedition navigators, clarifications were made to the values ​​of previously determined latitudes, and hence corrections to the contours of the known part of the mainland. Magellan, having been exploring the shores of La Plata for more than a month, sent the ship "Sant Yago" up the Parana, which on the secret map of Magellan was designated as the desired strait. Within two weeks of careful searching, Magellan became convinced that this was not so.

Fearing to miss the entrance to the elusive strait and therefore not succumbing to the temptation of exploring and capturing unknown lands that open up to travelers, on February 2, 1520, Magellan ordered to weigh anchor. The flotilla was supposed to move along the coast in the immediate vicinity of it in the light of day, and stop at dusk. During such a stay in the bay of Bahia Blanca, a terrible thunderstorm broke out, but the battered sailors were plunged into mystical horror not by peals of thunder and almost continuous lightning, but by an unprecedented spectacle of a mysterious glow on the masts of ships. Later, this phenomenon, called "the fires of St. Elmo", will be perceived by superstitious sailors as a bad omen.

At the end of February, Magellan discovered the large Gulf of San Matias and the Valdes Peninsula. Further south, near the mouth of the Chubut River, the sailors found many penguins and unprecedented animals - huge seals with trunks that made them look like elephants. They were named just like that - southern elephant seals - and turned out to be very useful for replenishing food supplies. It was cold - the winter of the southern hemisphere was approaching, and the sailors, who were tuned to sail in the tropics, did not have winter clothes. At the end of March, when winter began to assert itself more and more insistently, Magellan decided to spend the winter in San Julian Bay and ordered to reduce the diet for this.

Realizing that this would displease the people, and given the thinly concealed hostility of the Spanish captains, Magellan prudently anchored his Trinidad at the entrance to the bay where the other four ships were located. The Spanish officers, who all this time quietly gloated over the disappointment of the admiral, counting on his voluntary refusal to continue sailing and not wanting to stay here for the winter, demanded that Magellan turn to the Cape of Good Hope and go to the Moluccas by the eastern route. Magellan flatly refused.

On the night of April 1, a riot broke out. The rebels liberated Cartagena, captured the Victoria, Concepción and San Antonio, arrested Mishquita and killed his assistant, devoted to Magellan. As follows from the "Essays ..." I.P. and V.I. Magidovich, the rebels aimed their guns at the Trinidad and demanded that Magellan come to them for negotiations. Against the two ships of the admiral were three rebellious, prepared for battle. But the rebels did not trust their sailors, and on one ship they even disarmed them.

In difficult circumstances, Magellan showed a calm determination. He sent his loyal alguacil (police officer) Gonzalo Gomez Espinosa with several sailors to the Victoria to invite her captain for negotiations on the admiral's ship. He refused, then the alguasil plunged a dagger into his throat, and one sailor finished him off. Magellan's brother-in-law, the Portuguese Duarto Barbosa, immediately took possession of the Victoria and was appointed her captain. Now the rebels had only two ships, and so that they would not desert, the prudent admiral, as mentioned above, had previously taken a convenient position at the exit from the bay. The San Antonio tried to break into the ocean, but the sailors, after a volley from the Trinidad, tied up the officers and surrendered. The same thing happened at the Concepción. Magellan dealt harshly with the rebel captains: he ordered the head of Quesada to be cut off, the corpse of Mendoza to be quartered, and Cartagena to be landed on the deserted coast along with the conspiring priest, but he spared the rest of the rebels.

In early May, the Sant Yago ship crashed against the rocks, but the crew, with the exception of one sailor, managed to escape. Magellan transferred Serrano as captain on the Concepción. The flotilla remained at the wintering site until August 24, and then left the bay of San Julian and relocated to the mouth of the Santa Cruz River, so that they could remain there until the onset of spring. During the wintering, the international crew had the opportunity to get acquainted with the natives. They were Indians with beautiful faces and slender figures, very tall. Sailors were especially struck by their long legs, which is why they were called Patagonians (from the Spanish "patagon" - long-legged). To some sailors (perhaps, first of all, to the undersized admiral), the Patagonians seemed to be real giants - this is how the chronicler of the expedition Pigafetta described them. With his light hand, their whole country has since been called Patagonia.

When, at last, the air blew in the spring, the admiral ordered the anchors to be raised, and on October 18 the flotilla headed south along the Patagonian coast. Before going to sea, Magellan told the captains that he intended to continue searching for the strait leading to the South Sea, but in case of failure, he was ready to turn the ships to the east. At the same time, he indicated the border of the search for the strait - 75 degrees south latitude. But luck was close - the strait leading to the west was found on October 21, 1520 at 52 degrees. To find it, Magellan's ships had to travel from 34 to 52 degrees south latitude and along the way discover the previously unknown Atlantic coast of South America for about 3.5 thousand kilometers.

At first, there was no complete clarity - this was a strait or just a long and deep bay. To clarify this, the admiral, having rounded Cape Virgenes, sent forward two ships - the San Antonio and the Concepción, commanded by Mishkita and Serrano. During the reconnaissance, the captains of both ships decided that the passage had been found, and reported this to Magellan. However, everything turned out to be not so simple. With further movement, the proposed strait was divided into several branches, and it was necessary to find one of them that leads to the South Sea. However, it was still far from entering the South Sea: Magellan walked south for several days through narrow straits until he saw two channels turning southeast and southwest. He sent the Concepción and the San Antonio to the southeast, and to the southwest a boat with sailors, who three days later reported that they had seen the cape and the open sea. The admiral called this cape Desired ...

Heading southeast, the Concepción and the San Antonio separated en route, and each ship was at a standstill. But if the "Concepción" turned back and went to connect with the "Trinidad" and "Victoria", then on the "San Antonio", which missed the flotilla on the way back, officer Ishtevan Gomizh mutinied. Captain Mishkita, who tried to pacify the rebellion, was wounded and shackled. Gomizh declared himself a captain, and the deserters moved east to return to Spain at the end of March 1521. There they, in order to justify themselves, accused Magellan of treason. The authorities believed the slander, Mishkita was arrested, and the Magellan family was deprived of state benefits.

The admiral, not knowing the reasons for the disappearance of the San Antonio, decided that the ship had died. The remaining flotilla, following along the northern shore of the narrow Patagonian Strait, rounded the southernmost point of the South American continent, Cape Froward, and from November 23 to 28 moved northwest. The high mountains and deserted rocky shores seemed deserted, but at night the fires of fires were visible on the south side of the strait. This gave Magellan reason to give these shores the name "Tierra del Fuego" - "Tierra del Fuego". A little more than a month after the discovery of the Atlantic entrance to the strait connecting the two oceans, the flotilla passed Cape Desired (Pilar) at the Pacific exit. This sea corridor, which is 550 km long, is now known as the Strait of Magellan.

On September 20, 1519, the flotilla left the port of San Lucar at the mouth of the Guadalquivir. When crossing the ocean, Magellan developed a good signaling system; the different types of ships of his flotilla never parted. Disagreements between him and the Spanish captains began very soon: beyond the Canary Islands, Cartagena demanded that the chief consult with him regarding any change of course. Magellan calmly and proudly replied: "Your duty is to follow my flag by day and my lantern by night."

A few days later, Cartagena raised the issue again. Then Magellan, who, despite his small stature, was distinguished by great physical strength, grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and ordered him to be kept in custody on the Victoria, and appointed his relative, the supernumerary sailor Alvara Mishpitu, as the captain of the San Antonio.

On September 26, the flotilla approached the Canary Islands, on November 29 it reached the coast of Brazil near 8 ° S. sh., December 13 - Guanabara Bay, and December 26 - La Plata. The navigators of the expedition were the best at that time: performing the determination of latitudes, they made adjustments to the map of the already known part of the mainland. Thus, Cape Cabo Frio, by their definition, is not at 25 ° S. sh., and at 23 ° S. sh. - their error was less than 2 km from its true position. Not trusting the messages of the satellites of Solis, Magellan examined both low-lying banks of La Plata for about a month; continuing the discovery of the flat territory of the Pampa, begun by Lisboa and Solis, he sent the Santiago up the Parana, and, of course, did not find a passage to the South Sea. Beyond lay an unknown, sparsely populated land. And Magellan, fearing to miss the entrance to the elusive strait, on February 2, 1520, ordered to weigh anchor and move as close as possible to the coast only during the day, and stop in the evening. In the parking lot on February 13 in the big bay Bahia Blanca flotilla withstood a terrifying thunderstorm, during which the fires of St. Elmo appeared on the masts of the ships. On February 24, Magellan discovered another large bay - San Matias, rounded the Valdez Peninsula he identified and took refuge for the night in a small harbor, which he called Puerto San Matias (Golfo Nuevo Bay of our maps, at 43 ° S. latitude) . To the south, near the mouth of the river. Chubut, February 27, the flotilla came across a huge concentration of penguins and southern elephant seals. To replenish food supplies, Magellan sent a boat to the shore, but an unexpectedly flowing squall threw the ships into the open sea. The sailors who remained on the shore, so as not to die from the cold, covered themselves with the bodies of dead animals. Having taken the “procurers”, Magellan moved south, pursued by storms, explored another bay, San Jorge, and spent six stormy days in a narrow bay (Rio Deseado estuary, near 48 ° S. lat.). On March 31, when the approach of winter became noticeable, he decided to spend the winter in San Julian Bay (at 49 ° S). Four ships entered the bay, and the Trinidad stood at anchor at the entrance to it. The Spanish officers wanted to force Magellan to "follow the royal instructions": turn to the Cape of Good Hope and go east to the Moluccas. That same night the riot began. Cartagena was released, the rebels captured the Victoria, Concepción and San Antonio, arrested Mishquita, and Quesada mortally wounded an assistant loyal to Magellan. They aimed their guns at the Trinidad and demanded that Magellan come to them for negotiations. Against the two ships of the admiral were three rebellious, prepared for battle. But the rebels did not trust their sailors, and on one ship they even disarmed them.

In difficult circumstances, Magellan showed a calm determination. He sent his loyal alguacil (police officer) Gonzalo Gomez Espinosa with several sailors to the Victoria to invite her captain for negotiations on the admiral's ship. He refused, then the alguasil plunged a dagger into his throat, and one sailor finished him off. Magellan's brother-in-law, the Portuguese Duarte Barbosa, immediately took possession of the Victoria and was appointed her captain. Now the rebels had only two ships, and so that they would not desert, the prudent admiral, as mentioned above, had previously taken a convenient position at the exit from the bay. The San Antonio tried to break into the ocean, but the sailors, after a volley from the Trinidad, tied up the officers and surrendered. The same thing happened at the Concepción. Magellan dealt harshly with the rebel captains: he ordered the head of Quesadz to be cut off, the corpse of Mendoza to be quartered, and Cartagena to be landed on the deserted coast along with the conspiring priest, but he spared the rest of the rebels.

In early May, the admiral sent Ser-rano to the Santiago south for reconnaissance, but on May 3 the ship crashed on the rocks near the river. Santa Cruz (at 50° S) and his crew managed to escape with difficulty (one sailor died). Magellan transferred Serrano as captain on the Concepción. Indians of very tall stature approached the wintering place. They were called Patagonians (in Spanish "patagon" - big-footed), their country has since been called Patagonia. Pigafetta exaggeratedly described the Patagonians as real giants. On August 24, the flotilla left San Julian Bay and reached the mouth of Santa Cruz, where it stayed until mid-October, waiting for the onset of spring. On October 18, the flotilla moved south along the Patagonian coast, which forms in this area (between 50 and 52 ° S) the wide bay of Bahia Grande. Before going to sea, Magellan told the captains that he would look for a passage to the South Sea and turn east if he did not find a strait before 75 s. sh., that is, he himself doubted the existence of the "Patagonian Strait", but wanted to continue the enterprise to the last opportunity. The bay, or strait, leading to the west, was found on October 21, 1520 at 52 ° S. sh., after Magellan discovered the previously unknown Atlantic coast of South America for about 3.5 thousand km (between 34 and 52 ° S. latitude).

Rounding Cape Dev (Cabo Virgenes), the admiral sent two ships ahead to find out if there was an exit to the open sea in the west. A storm arose during the night and lasted two days. The ships sent were threatened with death, but at the most difficult moment they noticed a narrow strait, rushed there and found themselves in a relatively wide bay; along it they continued their journey and saw another strait, behind which a new, wider bay opened.

Then the captains of both ships - Mishkita and Serrano - decided to return and report to Magellan that, apparently, they had found a passage leading to the South Sea. “... We saw these two ships approaching us in full sail with flags fluttering in the wind. Coming closer to us ... they began to fire their guns and noisily greet us. However, it was still far from entering the South Sea: Magellan walked south for several days through narrow straits until he saw two channels near about. Dawson: one to the southeast, the other to the southwest. He sent the San Antonio and the Concepción to the southeast, and a boat to the southwest. The sailors returned "three days later with the news that they had seen the cape and the open sea." The Admiral shed tears of joy and called this Cape Desired.

"Trinidad" and "Victoria" entered the southwest channel, anchored there waiting for four days and returned back to connect with two other ships, but there was only "Concepción": in the southeast she reached a dead end - in Inu-til Bay - and turned back. The San Antonio hit another stalemate; on the way back, without finding the flotilla on the spot, the officers wounded and shackled Mishkita and at the end of March 1521 returned to Spain. The deserters accused Magellan of treason in order to justify themselves, and they were believed: Mishkita was arrested, Magellan's family was deprived of state benefits. His wife and two children soon died in poverty. But the admiral did not know under what circumstances the San Antonio disappeared. He believed that the ship was lost, since Mishkita was his trusted friend. Following along the northern coast of the strongly narrowed Patagonian Strait (as Magellan called it), he rounded the southernmost point of the South American continent - Cape Froward (on the Brunswick Peninsula, 53 ° 54 "S) and five more days (23 - November 28) led three ships to the northwest as if along the bottom of a mountain gorge.The high mountains (the southern end of the Patagonian Cordillera) and the bare shores seemed to be deserted, but in the south, smoke was visible during the day, and fires at night - fires. And Magellan called this southern land, the size of which he did not know, "Land of Fire" (Tierra del Fuego). On our maps it is inaccurately called Tierra del Fuego. 38 days after Magellan found the Atlantic entrance to the strait, really connecting two oceans, he passed Cape Desired (now Pilar) at the Pacific exit from the Strait of Magellan (about 550 km).