A woman and her two children, Strait of Magellan

By late August 1599 the expedition of the Magellan Company to Asia finally continued its passage through the Strait of Magellan and by 3 September the ships reached the Pacific Ocean. However, soon afterwards the ships became separated through a combination of poor weather and miscommunication. The admiral, Simon de Cordes, lost contact with all other ships and continued to the previously agreed rendezvous point at the island St. Maria. In the following days, more ships became separated and the Geloof and Trouw were forced back into the Strait of Magellan by the prevailing winds. There they sheltered together until early December, but they then lost sight of each other when the Trouw was forced out to sea without the Geloof noticing. The crew of the Geloof, under captain Sebald de Weert, was already fed up with the hardship of the journey. While sheltering they were frequently unwilling to work. According to the account of Barent Iansz., surgeon on the Geloof, a few days after losing the Trouw, on 12 December the crew members of the Geloof spotted canoes with people in them and pursued these. They captured a woman and her two children and brought them aboard the Geloof. Iansz. describes the woman as unmoved emotionally by her capture. She was presented with cooked food but refused, so she was given a bird from her captured, which she dissected with a mollusk shell and ate raw with her children. She was returned to shore with her children two days later.

This image shows the captured woman and her two children with their canoe. In the background we see the crew ashore and chasing the indigenous people, who fled into the hills. The woman is naked with only a string of shells and a seal’s skin around her neck. She is described as having crooked legs, short hair, a tough appearance, possibly referring to a sturdy build as she is shown with strong muscles. One of the children holds a basket.