and Puerto Toro which was founded in 1892. Puerto Navarino, on the west side of the Navarino island, was founded in June 1938. In addition, some of the islands were developed to support sheep ranching, and meat and wool exports became important.

Puerto Williams was founded 1953, developed primarily as a naval base for Chile. Its naval hospital of 463 m² (today 638 m²) opened in 1960. In 2002 the electrical power supply was transferred from