History of a Voyage to the Falkland Islands

this great event could not have been
recorded by Historians;
but for the Philosopher it is written
in the book of Nature. The author refers to the geological separation of islands from the mainland, a concept then known as the "Theory of the Earth."

Furthermore, we have only known
the Falkland Islands original: "Isles Malouines" since the
era when they were violently torn
from the continent; thus
what Navigators have
taught us so far serves at most
only to perfect the theory of the
earth; but should Spain send
a Colony there, should the Arts

be born in its bosom, should this
region serve as a point of union
between the New World and the
Southern World original: "Monde Austral," referring to the hypothesized Great Southern Continent or the Antarctic regions, then
its History will begin.

The Falkland Islands are sep-
arated only by a strait from that
tip of South America
inhabited by the Patagonians, a
singular country where nature de-
generates in its vegetation, yet re-
covers with advantage in the
human species; which produces Giants,
plants without vigor, and
degenerate quadrupeds. The author reflects the 18th-century "Degeneracy Theory," which suggested that American flora and fauna were inferior to those of Europe, while simultaneously marveling at the rumored size of the Patagonians.

It is a quite sin-
gular phenomenon, that since there have been