Read on Twitter
Time to learn about Magellan's time in Patagonia.
After leaving Spain, he travelled as far south as anyone ever had along the coast of South America, making landfall in what is now Rio de Janerio, where he repaired ships and boosted crew morale with shore leave. He continued further south after 13 days.
He continued to look west, to find a way into another ocean. He was the first European to find the estuary now known as Rio de la Plata, surrounded by Argentina and Uruguay today. He continued up it as far as he could be quickly found it turned into a freshwater river.
He continued further south, storms and weather taking a toll on his men. He needed to find another safe harbor to spend the winter in. He would spend 5 months in a place they called Port St. Julian.
During those months, a munity arose. It lead to a trial that most of the crew never forgave him for. One ship was commandeered by her crew and they sailed back to Spain. Upon return, they spread the rumor that Magellan had gone mad and would never return.
It was in Port St. Julian they would first come across the giants. It they had spent two whole months there without seeing a single soul. But one day, a naked native appeared on the shore, dancing and singing.
They were eager to make contact but did not want to fall into a trap. Magellan sent a small party out to make contact. The giant was very happy to meet them. He made gestures to the heavens and marveled at the Europeans.
Magellean's scribes marked him down in the log as over eight feet tall. He had no hair on his head and was said to be painted completely white. Magellan brought him aboard and gave him much food and drink. The scribes started to try to teach him Spanish.
When the scribes wrote down his speech, they tried to do so phonetically. This was the first time a European had tried to do so with any foreign language. He quickly became a favorite among the crew as they continued to find a way through to the pacific.
Magellan decided he to keep him aboard the ship to bring back to Spain to prove giants existed. The giant soon became homesick and wanted off the boat. He communicated the best he could that he wanted to be on dry land once more.
He would die before they made it through the straight. Magellan would coin this region as Patagonia (land of the ducks) due to the size of the native's feet.
