PATAGONIA: The Land Two Nations Almost Went to War Over | 4K Travel Documentary
On December 22nd, 1978, an Argentine fleet sailed out of Ushuaia under cover of darkness with orders to invade three small islands at the eastern end of the Beagle Channel. By midnight, marines were scheduled to land. By dawn, Argentine aircraft would attack Chilean airfields. By the second day, three army corps would cross the Andes toward Santiago.
Six hours before combat began, the operation was called off. The reason was a storm in the Drake Passage — and a telephone call from a Pope who had held the office for sixty-eight days.
Patagonia is one of the most argued-over pieces of land in the southern hemisphere. Two countries spent two centuries trying to divide it, exterminated its first peoples to make room for the borders, and as recently as forty years ago came within hours of fighting a war for it.
In this documentary, discover the geography, history, and unfinished disputes that shaped the bottom of the world — from the Welsh chapels of Chubut to the painted handprints of the Cave of Hands, from the towering granite spires of Patagonia to the storm at sea that prevented a war.
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