54. Possible Relatives in the
Americas
The Fuegian and Patagonian People
(Chile and Argentina)
by George Weber
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Table of Contents
Geography and History
Maps (immediately below)
Europe discovers Tierra del Fuego: sites
of important events
--- The
Magellan Strait (Fernando de Magellan)
--- A place of dreadful reputation:
Puerto del Hambre or Port Famine
--- Sir
Francis Drake's derring do at Cape Horn
--- With
James Cook around Cape Horn
--- With
Darwin into a new scientific era
Captain FitzRoy's Fuegian
captives
(including Trouble
at the mission
station)
Languages
Archaeology
Genetics and
the first human migration into the Americas
The Tribes
Haush (Manek'enk),
Argentina
Ona (Selk'nam), Argentina
and Chile
Yanama (Yahgan),
Argentina and Chile
Kawesqar
(Alakaluf), Chile
Tehuelche
(Aonikenk, Mecharnuekenk, Küwach-a-Güna,
Günün-a-Küna), Argentina
Puelche
(Guennakin), Argentina
Chono,
Chile
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Click on icon for Fuegian video
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Last change 1 August 2005
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The large map that opens if you click the button the left
is 2000 pixels wide and 500 KB heavy. It may be difficult to
view it on smaller screens.
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The Fuegian and Patagonian
people
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Amerinds:
1. Mapuche (Araucanian)
(expanding south from 18th century)
Fuegian groups:
6. Ona (Selk'nam)
7. Haush )Manek'enk)
8. Yaghan (Yanama)
9. Kawesqar (Alakaluf)
10. Chono (extinct 18th to 19th century)
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Patagonian groups:
Pampas people:
2. Puelche (Guennakin)
Tehuelche people:
3a. Künün-a-Güna (Northern Tehuelche)
3b.Küwach-a-Güna (Mountain Tehuelche)
4. Mecharnuekenk (northerly Southern Tehuelche)
5. Aonikenk (southerly Southern Tehuelche)
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The Fuegians and Patagonians are thought to be related to each
other in some degree and to have occupied the extreme southern tip of
south America since the late pleistocene age, i.e. for more than
12,000 years. They had long been thought to be Amerind but recent
genetic discoveries have seriously undermined this assertion.
The tribal territories shown above are only appoximations. Just
one example to illustrate the complexities of Fuegian tribal
identifications and territories: of the four Fuegian
captives of Captain Fitzroy, York Minster was captured in core
Yamana territory - but he was a Kawesqar. What was a Kawesqar man
doing deep in Yamana territory? Poaching, trading spying, friendly
visit, a bit of all? We simply do not know.
In cocmparison to the Patagonian groups, the Fuegians are
well-documented. During the the 19th entury when most of the tribes
under discussion here were still culturally intact and living their
traditional lives, more or less, the British (notably Captain FitzRoy
and Charles Darwin) as well as a number of missionaries from Germany
and Austria documented many aspects of the Fuegians and their lives.
The Patagonians were less fortunate. They lived in wide open plains,
much of it valuable grassland. In the 19th century, Argentina and
Chile shook off Spanish colonial rule and set out to become nation
states. This processwas not peaceful - there were wars (some of them
exceedingly bloody) over disputed claims and borders. There were also
wars of extermination against the aboriginal Patagonian tribes. Their
lands were in demand by an ever-increasing number of settlers as well
as by expanding Amerindian Mapuche invaders from tthe western side of
the Andes mountain chain.
In such a situation, dispassionate scientific research was rarely
possible. As a result, we know very little about the aboriginal
Patagonians.
Europe discovers Tierra del
Fuego: sites and facts of historical interest
Historical locations in Tierra del Fuego that are re mentioned in
the text below.
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1 Entrance to the Strait of Magellan
Magellan, Drake,
FitzRoy/Darwin
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2 Puerto del Hambre (Port Famine)
Magellan, Drake,Cook,
FitzRoy/Darwin
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3 Passage from and to the Pacific
Magellan, Drake,
FitzRoy/Darwin
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4 The Drake Passage
Drake, Cook
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5 Cape Horn
Drake, Cook,
FitzRoy/Darwin
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6 The alternative passage
Cook,
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7 Bay of Good Success (Aguirre Bay)
Cook, FitzRoy/Darwin
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8 Woollya Station
FitzRoy/Darwin
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The Magellan Strait
(Fernando de Magellan)
Without the fortuitious existence of the Magellan Strait (the only
sheltered passage between Atlantic and Pacific Ocean) all shipping
would have had to go around Cape Horn with its howling hurricanes,
giant waves and treacherous rocks. In other words, hardly any ship
would have made it from one ocean to the other and world history
would have gone rather differently. The Strait must have been known
to mariners before Magellan "discovered" it in 1520. He seems to have
at least had an inkling that a passage existed since searched for and
found the hidden entrance almost immediately. It cannot have been
just dumb luck. The real discoverer of the Strait will remain unknown
but it is still right that the passage is named after Magellan, the
man who first made its existence widely known.
The Portuguese explorer and admiral Fernando de Magellan
sailed around the world 1519-1522 on behalf of the Spanish crown (his
ship and some of his crew completed the round-trip but Magellan
himself died in the Philippines in 1521). In 1520 Magellan's fleet
reached Tierra del Fuego. On 21 October 1520 one of his ships sent
out as scout discovered the narrow and almost invisible entrance to
the passage into the Pacific that is today called after the admiral
the Straits of Magellan. Of Magellan's original five ships, at
that time one had been wrecked on the Argentinian coast earlier and
one had decided at the entrance to the Straits to return to Spain
without permission rather than continue with the others. Magellan
waited in vain for the missing third ship (point 1 on the map) before
he moved with the three ships left to him into the Straits on 1
November 1520. On 27 November had reached the Pacific. The shortest
way through the Straits is 510 km but Magellan had to find his way
though a maze of uncharted passages and dead-end sidearms as well as
battle unpredictable winds. He is estimated to have travelled as much
as five times that minimum distance.
Virtually every other vessel after Magellan until today went
through this passage, among them Sir Francis Drake in 1578 and
Beagle with Charles Darwin in 1834.
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Magellan's route through Tierra del Fuego 1520.
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Fernando de Magellan (1480-1521)
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Fernando de Magellan's map of the area that gave him so
much trouble - and one of the greatest triumphs when he
almost accidentally discovered the Straits now named after
him.
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A place of dreadful
reputation: Puerto del Hambre or Port Famine
1584 Spanish settlers under Pedro Sarmiento made the first known
European attempt to set up a settlement in Tierra del Fuego. Most
died of hunger during the first winter and the few survivors were
rescueded by the British in 1587.
In 1828 the British surveying ship Beagle , then under
captain Pringle Stokes and without
Charles Darwin on board as yet also anchored
there. The dreadful reputation of the place
suffered another blow when Captain Stokes committed suicide from
exhaustion and overwork. Captain Robert FitzRoy replaced him - and
would become Captain of the Beagle with Charles Darwin on
board as his soon-to-be famous scientific advisor, passenger and
nemesis.
Captain FitzRoy and Charles Darwin on the
Beagle also stopped at Puerto del Hambrefrom 1 to 8 June 1834
when departing from Tierra del Fuego in the direction of the
Pacific.
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The memorial at Puerto del Hambre (Port Famine) for the
many deaths that have ocurred there (see comments to map
above).
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From and into the
Pacific
Almost every vessel who has ever passed in either direction
between Atlantic and Pacific went through this point. The only other
way is around Cape Horn - and that is not the way for most sane
captains.
Sir Francis Drake's
derring-do at Cape Horn
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Drake's stormy route through and around Tierra del Fuego
1578.
In much of Latin America where Drake's raids during the
war against Spain did enormous material and psychological
damage even today Sir Francis Drake is still regarded as a
despicable pirate. In the Anglo-Saxon world he is regarded
as a hero who hit the Spanish empire where it hurt. It all
depends on your point of view. Even when there is a war
on.
Francisco de Hoces is sometimes offered as a "competitor"
to Francis Drake in Spanish-speaking countries. Hoces lived
during the first quarter of the 16th century and has been
claimed as the true discoverer of Cape Horn. The claim is
not well-documented: in January 1526 de Hoces was blown
southwards by a storm along the eastern coast of of Tierra
del Fuego. It is said that he saw "land's end"- which could
have been been Staten island or Cape San Juan or, some say
even Cape Horn. I Nice try, but if that is all the
evidence...
Even if Drake did not discover Cape Horn and even if he
was indeed a vicious pirate, let's be fair, Drake's exploits
and seamanship remain breathtaking.
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Sir Francis Drake (ca. 1542-1596), favourite of Queen
Elizabeth I of England, sea hero in the fight against Spain
andof the battle battle against the Spanish Armada 1588.
Drake was the first Englishman to sail around the world
(1577-1580).
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With James
Cook around Cape Horn
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Captain James Cook during his first voyage around the
world (from East to West) in the Endeavour
(1768-1771) stayed in Tierra del Fuego for a brief,
businesslike visit. He made first landfall on 15 January
1769 in the same Success Bay that more than 60 years later
would also serve Captain FitzRoy and Charles Darwin of the
Beagle as their first landing spot in the islands.
Most of the time Cook's expedition
stayed in the islands was used for expeditions sent into the
areas around Success Bay - into the territory of the Haush
and possibly the Ona tribes. Drawings and paintings of the
area and its people were made. A sudden icy spell (in the
southern Summer!) caused a tragedy: two men out collecting
froze to death. The expedition left on 13 February 1769 and
noted the sight of Cape Horn.
The route they took after leaving
ther islands was the unusual: they went south of Cape Horn,
a sign of improved shipbuilding technology and scientific
curiosity as much as of bravery.
During his second journey around
the world (from West to East) Cook only stayed briefly in
Tthe area in December 1774.
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Left:
Captain James Cook (1728-1779
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Right:
Success Bay after Cook landed and stayed there 1769
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Drawing of a Fuegian man (probably of the Haush
tribe). Rather surpisingly, he seems to be wearing be a
European-type shirt and not the usual Haush fur coat.
Perhaps he traded it with a whaler.
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With Darwin into a new
scientific era
We only show the movements of the Beagle in Tierra del
Fuego for the first month of their stay in the islands, i.e.until the
three returned Fuegian captives
had been landed at Woollya station on Navarino island.
The regions that the Beagle travelled in the area under
Captain Robert FitzRoy with Charles Darin between 1831 and 1834 are
too complex to show (see info box immediately below).
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For a very detailed description and
route maps of the"Beagle's and Darwin's historical
expedition around the world (including, of course, the
movements in Tierra del Fuego) see the sequential series of
maps on the splendid web-site http://www.aboutdarwin.com/voyage/voyage01.html
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Robert FitzRoy was captain of the Beagle and as such
captain of Charles Darwin on the historical expedition around the
world from December 1831 to October 1836. The Beagle's stay in
Tierra del Fuego lasted from March 1832 to February 1833 and again
from January to June 1834 - with a side-trip to the Falkland islands
and the Argentinian Rosa Cruz valley in March and April 1834).
Robert FitzRoy had been an excellent Captain of the Beagle
in Tierra del Fuego since 1828 (see entry 3 in "Europe discovers
Tierra del Fuego" above) before he took Darwin as his "working
passenger". FitzRoy was a member of the higher British aristocracy
and had considerable scientific interests and talents but of a more
practical-technnological nature than those of Darwin. Among other
things FitzRoy was greatly interested in putting weather forceasts on
a solid scientific foundation and succeeded in doing so against all
opposition. The weather forecast area "Fitzroy" is named after
him.
Vice-Admiral FitzRoy (as he was at the end of his career) was a
gifted sailor and technician and a typical conservative if not
conventional Christian of his time. He suffered greatly at the
thought that he had helped Darwin shatter ideas dear to 19th century
western Christians. FitzRoy was a tragic figure who ended his own
life in 1865.
On the Beagle with Darwin were also the three surviving
Fuegian natives that Captain FitzRoy had taken twith him to London in
1831. On the long trip south across the Atlantic with many stops on
the way, Darwin had plenty of opportunities to get acquainted with
the Fuegians. They made a tremendous impression on Darwin and can be
said to have been the first to have done so on this historic
voyage.
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Vice-Admiral Robert FitzRoy (1805-1865).
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The First contact of Charles Darwin on theBeagle
with Fuegians took place in Good Success Bay (today Aguirre
Bay) on 18 December 1832. The Beagle had sailed southeast
along the east coast of Tierra del Fuego big island and was looking
for shelter. The ship had been spotted at Cape San Diego by Fuegians
(almost certainly of the Haush
tribe). Several dozen of them followed the ship all day along the
shore, shouting all the way. When the Beagle anchored in the
Bay in the evening, the Fuegians set up camp on the shore. The
following morning, Capt. FitzRoy sent a party, including Darwin,
ashore to try to establish contact. A small Fuegian group approached
the strangers but any attempt at verbal communication failed. Red
cloth was presented to the Fuegians and the atmosphere immediately
became much friendlier. The Fuegians tried to communicate with the
strangers by patting them on their chests. Two of the three Fuegian
captives (all of the Yamana tribe) that were being returned from
England to their homes also tried to act as interpreters but
with very limited success as the languages were not mutually
comprehensible. The Fuegians amazed Darwin with their ability to
mimic the Europeans' gestures and the words they spoke; they could
repeat entire English sentences without ever having heard English
before. The Fuegians in turn were astonished by the Europeans'
singing and dancing, their beards and pale skin.
Darwin himself later wrote about this first impression of these
utterly strange humans: "
"These poor wretches were stunted in their growth, their
hideous faces bedaubed with white paint, their skins filthy and
greasy, their hair entangled, their voices discordant, their
gestures violent and without dignity. Viewing such men, one can
hardly make oneself believe they are fellow-creatures, and
inhabitants of the same world".
Contact with Fuegians had a tremendous influence on the
development of Darwin's later revolutionary ideas on evolution. The
Fuegians and their (to the Victorian British) utterly alien and
contemptible, almost sub-human culture especially impressed on Darwin
the fact that Homo sapiens is not exempt from the workings of
evolution. For religious people who believe that humans (or at least
male humans) are literally created in God's image, this was and for
some still is, unacceptable. A fierce controversy lasting until today
has been the result.
The Beagle's stay in Tierra del Fuego lasted from March
1832 to February 1833 and again from January to June 1834 - with a
side-trip to the Falkland islands and the Argentinian Rosa Cruz
valley in March and April 1834). The entire trip around the world on
the Beagle lasted from 1831to
1836.
Darwin was one of the most original and influential scientific
thinkers in history - and his despite the fact that his father had
destined him for"the church" and he had to have the meaning of the
word "science" explained to him before he took on the position on
board the Beagle. This scientific innocence and distance to
much of the established science of his days was, in many ways, a
lucky advantage when he had to organise the flood of new observations
that he made during his long voyage around the world. He was natural,
superb, unprejudices and original observer - a born scientist in all
but name. The idea for his later theory of evolution ripened in him
during and after his journey around the world. He collected and
compared vast numbers of specimens and data that had not hitherto
been available or had never before been compared
Darwin published his On the Origin of Species by Means of
Natural Selection in 1859 and followed this up with The
Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex in 1871 - and
the world has not bee the same since. Although refined and expanded
since its first publication, Darwin's theory in its basics has
survived intact and is now an undisputed and indispensable tool in a
large number scientific fields.
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Charles Darwin (1809-1882 ) as a young man, shortly after
returning from his expedition around the world (picture by
George Richmond).
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After struggling desperately for nearly a month against the worst
storm that even experienced Captain FitzRoy had ever seen, the
Beagle on 13 January 1834 was turned on its side and nearly
sunk by a series of giant breakers. The battered vessel eventually
struggled into the safety of Christmas Bay the next day - and as soon
as it was there, the storm ceased.
On 18 January 1834 anybody who could leave, left the Beagle
to the carpenters to make their repairs. A fleet of small boats with
Captain FitzRoy, Charles Darwin, the three Fuegians and many others
sailed for Woollya. It was last known home of Jemmy Button's family
and all three Fuegian captives wanted their discharge rom the
"informal captivity" to take place there. Captain FitzRoy wanted to
try something new and to approach Woollya through the western end of
the Beagle Channel. This oddly straight but natural waterway was
named after his ship and had been discovered only a short time ago,
in 1830. While moving through the channel and its spectacular
mountain background, local Fuegians gathered in growing numbers on
its shore and followed the fleet's progress on foot. They also
lighted fires all along the route which drew still more Fuegians to
the show.
Darwin reported an interesting observation
at that time: the three "anglicized" Fuegians on the boats observing
the "wild" Fuegians who had never seen outsiders before, the area
being inaccessible to whalers and larger vessels. In best colonialist
attitude, the Yamana or Alakaluf Fuegian, York Minster, was heard to
call the spectators on shore "monkeys" (a word he must have picked up
in England as a term of abuse, probably hurled at himself). Fuegia
Basket was scared at what she saw and what to her must have been a
scary picture of future life "back home". Jemmy Button with his
peculiarly uncertain tribal affiliations was alarmed to find that he
had forgotten much of his native language and could communicate only
with difficulties.
The fleet reached the Murray narrows
(between Navarino island and the Dumas peninsula of Hoste island.
Turning south into the narrows, a growing fleet of canoes followed
the British boats to Ponsonby sound at the south end of the narrows
where Captain FitzRoy had "bought" Jemmy Button for a button many
years ago.Jemmy Button also recognized the place and knew where he
was so he could tell Captain Fitzroy how to reach the bay where he
had once lived. On 23 January, Jemmy Button was back home.
On the further fate of the three surviving Fuegian captives and
especially of Jemmy Button and the subsequent events on Navarino
island, see the last section of chapter Captain
FitzRoy's Fuegian Captives.
Last change 15 March 2007
