Illustrated Treatise on the Maritime Kingdoms

Patagonia

Also written as Bādegēní’ā original: 八的哥尼阿 or Bāluómínà original: 巴羅彌那. It is also called Zhìjiā original: 智加; likely a phonetic rendering of the Spanish "Gigantes," meaning giants. This is the southernmost territory of South America, and it is the place known in legends as the Land of Giants.

The shape of the land is like a horseshoe crab broad at the north and tapering to a narrow point in the south. To the north, it borders La Plata; to the northwest, it borders Chile. To the east lies the Atlantic Ocean, to the west is the Great Ocean the Pacific Ocean, and to the south is the Southern Sea. Its length from north to south is about three thousand li roughly 1,000 miles, while its width from east to west is half that distance. The land is overgrown with wild plants and is desolate. The inhabitants are all indigenous tribespeople. Their bodies and limbs are massive, about one and a half times the size of an average person. They hunt wild animals for food and do not form organized settlements or tribes, nor do they have any contact with other nations.

The climate is bitterly cold, similar to the northernmost regions of North America. Furthermore, because it produces no goods or resources, the various nations of Europe have never bothered to venture there or make inquiries. In the extreme south, where the land meets the sea, the area is perpetually covered in ice and snow. Across the water, facing the mainland, is an island called Tierra del Fuego original: 鐵耳蘓離依休勾 (Tiě’ěrsūlíyīxiūgōu). The strait between them is named Magellan. This strait is filled with hidden reefs. Those traveling to Chile or Peru...