area.
In 1669, the district around Puerto Deseado, explored by John Davis about the same period, was claimed by Sir John Narborough for King Charles II of England.
Patagonian giants: early European perceptions
The first European explorers of Patagonia observed that the indigenous people in the region were taller than the average Europeans of the time, prompting some of them to believe that Patagonians were giants.
According to Antonio Pigafetta, one of the Magellan expedition's few survivors and its published chronicler, Magellan bestowed the name "Patag�o" (or Patag�n) on the inhabitants they encountered there, and the name "Patagonia" for the region. Although Pigafetta's account does not describe how this name came about, subsequent popular interpretations gave credence to a derivation meaning 'land of the big feet'. However, this etymology is questionable. The term is most likely derived from an actual character name, "Patag�n", a savage creature confronted by Primale�n of Greece, the hero in the homonymous Spanish chivalry novel (or knight-errantry tale) by Francisco V�zquez. This book, published in 1512, was the sequel of the romance "Palmer�n de Oliva," much in fashion at the time, and a favourite reading of Magellan. Magellan's perception of the natives, dressed in skins, and eating raw meat, clearly recalled the uncivilized Patag�n in V�zquez's book. Novelist and travel writer Bruce Chatwin suggests etymological roots of both Patagon and Patagonia in his book, In Patagonia, noting the similarity between "Patagon" and the Greek word ???????, which means "a roaring" or "gnashing of teeth" (in his chronicle, Pigafetta describes the Patagonians as "roaring like bulls").
1840s illustration (somewhat idealised) of indigenous Patagonians from near the Straits of Magellan; from "Voyage au pole sud et dans l'Oc�anie ....." by French explorerJules Dumont d'Urville
The main interest in the region sparked by Pigafetta's
