European pioneers on the Pacific Coast of South America
© WTA Publishing
Valparaiso Bound!
How Europeans found a way to the Pacific, settled new
territories, brought the comforts of home and tried to
make fortunes
European pioneers on the Pacific Coast of South America? For centuries the fortunes of the two continents were deeply entangled. Gold, silver, copper and other natural resources had much to do with it. But so also did trade and the strategic significance of that distant coast. Add to that, a powerful mixture of piracy, voyages of discovery, the rampant capitalism of the Industrial Revolution and the emigration of poor farmers across the Atlantic, and you have a compelling story. It is the story told by David Woods in this new book: “Valparaiso Bound!” Chapters: • A Voyage - Contemporary first-hand accounts of one of the longest, most dangerous and most uncomfortable sea passages to a new life. • First impressions: Paradise or purgatory? - With relief, after three months or more at sea, travellers first set eyes on Valparaiso Bay and the old port. • Explorers, pirates, admirals and deserters - Centuries of exploration, discovery, settlement, sea battles, looting and treasure. The mariners’ stories. • The Spanish and a defiant outpost of empire - 300 years of rule, sometimes cruel, but never complete domination as the fierce indian tribes of Araucania in the south fight back relentlessly.
European pioneers on the Pacific Coast of South America
© WTA Publishing
Valparaiso Bound!
How Europeans found a way to the Pacific, settled new
territories, brought the comforts of home and tried to
make fortunes
European pioneers on the Pacific Coast of South America? For centuries the fortunes of the two continents were deeply entangled. Gold, silver, copper and other natural resources had much to do with it. But so also did trade and the strategic significance of that distant coast. Add to that, a powerful mixture of piracy, voyages of discovery, the rampant capitalism of the Industrial Revolution and the emigration of poor farmers across the Atlantic, and you have a compelling story. It is the story told by David Woods in this new book: “Valparaiso Bound!” Chapters: • A Voyage - Contemporary first-hand accounts of one of the longest, most dangerous and most uncomfortable sea passages to a new life. • First impressions: Paradise or purgatory? - With relief, after three months or more at sea, travellers first set eyes on Valparaiso Bay and the old port. • Explorers, pirates, admirals and deserters - Centuries of exploration, discovery, settlement, sea battles, looting and treasure. The mariners’ stories. • The Spanish and a defiant outpost of empire - 300 years of rule, sometimes cruel, but never complete domination as the fierce indian tribes of Araucania in the south fight back relentlessly.
