Toledo and the Strait of Magellan: Texts and Policies for a Globalized Andes

The sudden appearance of Francis Drake on the coast of Lima in 1579 transformed the geography of the Peruvian viceroyalty.  Before that year, the defense of the Peruvian coast rested entirely on its natural isolation from Europe.  Magellan’s famous navigation of 1519 was considered a unique heroic exploit, unlikely to be repeated.  However, Drake’s new threat forced Viceroy Francisco Toledo to organize a local army, and Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa was sent from Lima to Spain through the Strait of Magellan to explore and seek control of the southern passage.  In this context, Toledo wrote to King Philip II that the new discovery of the western entrance to the Strait "will be, in my understanding, the best of all things in these Indies," because it will "secure the Kingdom, lower the cost of commerce, avoid the hardships of the Panama route and finish the wars in Chile."  This paper will explore the writings, political actions and intended policies of Toledo vis-à-vis the sudden entrance of Drake in colonial Peru.  Drake’s navigation of 1578 forced Toledo to place the Andean territory in a globalized scenario through the opening and control of the Strait of Magellan.  Through the analysis of different archival documents, narratives and poetry produced after 1579 and the study of the design and construction of a new and local Navy of the Southern Sea ("Armada del Mar del Sur"), this research paper will shed new light on Toledo’s administration beyond his well know reorganization of the local Andean territory.