Ushuaia Travel Guide: History of Ushuaia

The Tierra del Fuego archipelago at the foot of the South American continent was first inhabited more than 10,000 years ago, with the Yaghan people being amongst the first of those to migrate from the north by foot. Many of the islands were still connected to Patagonia by land bridges, allowing the first peoples here to depend on hunting and gathering for survival the often harshly cold climate. Later groups arrived by sea adding to the ethnic diversity of the region.

During his historic expedition in 1520, Portuguese explorer Fernando Magellan gave the island grouping its namesake after he saw smoke rising from native fires (Tierra del Fuego literally meaning “Land of Fire”).

The site of the city Ushuaia was first settled in 1870 by an English missionary Wasti H. Stirling before it became a base for the Argentinean navy. It was declared as a city in 1893 after the region was split between Argentina and Chile.

In the first part of the 20th century, the city was the base for an Argentinean prison – the government set this up not only to transport prisoners to a remote location, but also to develop the economy of the region and give Argentina a stronger claim to territory that was strategically close to Antarctica.
Today the economy of the city is based on lumber, sheep farming, fishing and fur-trapping. Tourism also plays an important role as many travelers venture south to explore the Tierra del Fuego and many continue on to Antarctica.