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Magellan's Giants

An exaggeration?

Aaron Linkemyer's avatar
Aaron Linkemyer
Oct 31, 2024
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The explorer Ferdinand Magellan once went around the caps of Argentina in 1520, and famously claimed to have found the people who lived in Patagonia were giants, double the size of him and his crew. However, not all accounts support the existence of giant Patagonians. Some visitors, such as John Winter, Sir John Narborough, and Wallis and Carteret, reported encountering natives of normal height, with measurements ranging from 5 feet 10 to 6 feet 6 inches.

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