March
28
/ 2026
A recent archaeological discovery has shed new light on one of the most tragic episodes of Spanish colonization in the Americas. Researchers have unearthed a 440-year-old silver coin that pinpoints the exact location of "Port Famine" (Puerto del Hambre), a doomed Spanish colony established in the Strait of Magellan, according to El Magallanico. The Port Famine coin confirms the site of Ciudad del Rey Don Felipe, a settlement founded in 1584 by the Spanish navigator Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa, whose inhabitants met a grim fate due to starvation and harsh conditions. This remarkable discovery not only corroborates historical accounts but also provides tangible evidence of the extreme challenges faced by early explorers attempting to control the strategic maritime routes of
