Year 1616 - A New Route to Cape Horn

Capitán Holandés William Shouten

After the English privateers had passed through the Strait, the Dutch also arrived, who were at war with Spain and attacked their ships. But this hostility did not last long.

In 1615 there was peace and the Dutch were sailing all the seas, engaged in trade. They were interested in the route to India, but they were afraid of sailing through the Straits, which were dangerous for sailing ships.

Isaac Le Maire , a shipowner and merchant, was interested in finding a new route. In Amsterdam he met Captain William Shouten, who had made several voyages to the East and who believed that the Drake Sea could be the gateway to a new route.

They rigged two ships, which were called "Unión" and "Hoorn" and left in June 1615 bound for the Atlantic coast. Six months later they arrived at Puerto Deseado, where the "Hoorn" caught fire. They embarked sailors and cargo on the "Unión" and continued to the Le Maire Strait, at the eastern end of Tierra del Fuego, where they arrived on January 20, 1616.

In the mist of an evening, Captain Shouten saw land. It was a rocky mound resembling a crouching lion, its back covered in snow. The Dutch named it Cape Hoorn, after the shipowner's hometown.

Thus Cape Horn was discovered and a new route to the Pacific, which sailing ships used for several centuries.