Juan Fernandez High Sea

The open waters around Juan Fernández lay roughly 700 kilometres off central Chile. The volcanic islands offered rare places to replenish supplies during voyages across the southeastern Pacific. The Valparaíso natural history museum dates the Spanish navigator Juan Fernández's arrival to 1574 and describes the archipelago's subsequent use as an occasional refuge and provisioning stop for navigators, pirates and privateers.

Ships could obtain water and vegetables after rounding Cape Horn or passing through the Strait of Magellan, or between operations along the Chilean and Peruvian coasts. This use encouraged the Spanish crown to attempt a more permanent presence. In 1749 it sent 62 soldiers and 171 colonists, while fortifications and batteries were intended to control strategic anchorages. These island events provide context for the surrounding sea route; they do not imply that the open ocean itself was occupied or that the first colonial settlement immediately became secure.