Patagonia

In the second half of the 18th century, European knowledge of Patagonia was further augmented by the voyages of the previously-mentioned John Byron (1764–1765), Samuel Wallis (1766, in the same HMS "Dolphin" which Byron had earlier sailed in) and Louis Antoine de Bougainville (1766). Thomas Falkner, a Jesuit who resided near forty years in those parts, published his "Description of Patagonia" (Hereford, 1774); Francesco Viedma founded El Carmen, and Antonio advanced inland to the Andes (1782); and Basilio Villarino ascended the Rio Negro (1782).