Strait of Magellan

A navigable sea passage in southern Chile connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans between mainland South America and Tierra del Fuego.

Ferdinand Magellan: A Portuguese explorer who led the Spanish expedition that first sailed through the strait in 1520. His expedition entered the passage during the first circumnavigation of Earth.
Patagonian channels: A network of waterways and fjords along the Pacific coast of southern Chile. The strait forms part of this intricate coastal route system.
Panama Canal: An artificial waterway across Panama connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Its opening in 1914 redirected much long-distance shipping away from the strait.
Chilean territorial expansion: Chile’s nineteenth-century expansion of state authority into its southern territories. Control of the strait became a major objective of Chilean settlement and administration.
Spanish colonization of the Strait of Magellan: Spain’s efforts to secure and settle the Strait of Magellan in the late sixteenth century. The strait’s strategic value prompted Spain to establish settlements at its Atlantic entrance.
Tierra del Fuego: An archipelago at the southern tip of South America, separated from the mainland by the Strait of Magellan. Its northern shore bounds the strait’s southern side.
Cape Horn: A headland on Hornos Island at the southern end of South America. Ships once chose between the strait and the hazardous open-sea route around the cape.
Fuerte Bulnes: A Chilean fort founded in 1843 on the Strait of Magellan near the southern tip of mainland South America. Its founding asserted Chilean presence along a strategically important passage.
Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa: A Spanish navigator and colonial official who led settlement expeditions to the Strait of Magellan. He organized Spain’s best-known attempt to fortify and populate the passage.
Patagonia: A sparsely populated region spanning southern Argentina and Chile. The strait cuts through Patagonia and separates its mainland from Tierra del Fuego.

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