Louis-Antoine comte de Bougainville's Voyage 1766-1769
Bougainville diligently gathered facts for future navigators. A detail of his map of the Strait of Magellan reveals the excellent documentation he provided of the area. "I here add a particular chart which I have made of this interesting part of the coast of Terra del Fuego. Till now, no anchoring place was known on it, and ships were careful to avoid it." He also notes that Cape Forward "is the most southerly point of America, and of all the known continents.
Isle de l'Observatoire (detail of the Strait of Magellan) from Voyage Autour du Monde Paris: Chez Saillant & Nyon, 1772.
Three ports were identified as safe harbors: Baye de la Cormorandiere, Baye et Port de la Cascade, and Baye et Port de la Beaubassin. "The discovery of three ports…will facilitate the navigation of this part of the straits of Magalhaens." To the northeast of these harbors, on the coast of the main, is the Baye de Bougainville. Near this is a small island named the Isle de l’Observatoire, where the expedition’s astronomer set up his instruments but was met with poor weather. The botanist, Philibert Commercon, had better luck there and added many plant specimens to his collection. These and the others collected throughout the voyage are preserved today in the herbarium of the Museum of Natural History in Paris.
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