Magellan - the Explorer

Ferdinand Magellan

Is commonly known as the first western explorer to circumnavigate the globe in the late Medieval, Renaissance period. Being the first explorer to lead an expedition around the world, the name Magellan capturers the imagination down to this day.

Early Beginning

He was born in 1480 in northern Portugal. Adversity entered his life at an early age. His parents died when he was only 10 years old. At the age of 12, he was appointed as the queen’s messenger in the royal court. Young boys were appointed as messenger as a source of education. At the court, he learned about many famous explorers and the most important information about navigating ships. His dreams began to form in conjunction with his life experiences.

Seeds Of Desire Are Planted On First Expedition

His first time at sea was in 1505 when he was 25 years old. He sailed with Francisco de Almedia, Portugal’s first admiral, and his fleet. In 1511, he went on an expedition to conquer Melaka. After the victory, a Portuguese fleet sailed to the Spice Islands. Portugal claimed the islands at that time. One of his close friends, Francisco Serrao, went on the voyage and wrote to Magellan. In his letters he described the route and the island of Ternate. Association with other explorers was a major part of his life.

Funding The Dream

Serrao’s letters helped build his my mind the location of the Spice Islands, which later became the destination for his great voyage. He asked the King of Portugal to support his journey, but he refused. After that, he asked the King of Spain to support his journey. He was interested in my plan since Spain was looking for a better sea route to Asia, then the Portuguese route around the southern tip of Africa. It was hard for Magellan to find sailors, though. None of the Spanish sailors wanted to sail with him because he was Portuguese. He took anybody who would sign on, whether they were good seamen or not. Some of his crew were prisoners, who were released from jail in return for sailing with him. Even after finding financial support for his endeavor Magellan still had challenges.

Living The Dream Journey Around The Globe

In September of 1519, Magellan and his crew said their prayers and set sail for southern Spain with five ships. The names of the ships were Santiago, the San Antonio, the Conception, the Trinidad, and the Victoria. At first, all went well. The small fleet sailed across the Atlantic Ocean and reached South America. They stocked up with goods and sailed down the coastline looking for a passage through the South American continent. Magellan could not find a route through South America. Why, because there was no route through South America. The expedition sailed further and further south, sailing into every river and bay they came upon. The weather got colder, and they were running out of supplies. The crew revolted against the other captains and Magellan. The men who started the mutiny were hanged, and then the journey continued. Finally, in October of 1520, they found a strait. Magellan named it after himself, calling it the Strait of Magellan. It took 38 days to sail through the dangerous strait. They finally arrived at the ocean that Balboa had discovered several years before. Magellan named it the Pacific Ocean because of its calm waters, at that time. Next, they found themselves sailing for weeks across the Pacific ocean with no sign of land. Shortage of good food and water became a problem. One of the other captains deserted Magellan and sailed the San Antonio back to Spain. In March of 1521, the expedition arrived in Guam, an island in the Pacific. At last, from there, they headed for the Spice Islands. The dreamed of goal was at hand.

Goal Reached Rich Cargo Brought From The Spice Islands To Spain

After three years. The Victoria was the only ship to bring its rich cargo to Seville, Spain. Out of the five ships that began the journey, only one ship made the voyage around the world. Magellan completed his journey in the Philippine Islands and died from an unforeseen attack. Pigafetta and Ginés de Mafra provided written documents of the events culminating in Magellan's death. In the account Magellan was referred to as; “our mirror, our light, our comfort, and our true guide. When they wounded him, he turned back many times to see whether we were all in the boats.” Magellan himself did not reach his goal, the Spice Islands; yet he had accomplished the most difficult part of his task. He had been the first to undertake the circumnavigation of the world, had carried out his project completely, and had thus achieved the most difficult nautical feat of the era. The voyage proved most fruitful for science and generations to come. It gave the first positive proof of the earth being a globe and the verification of the actual distribution of land and water. The Basque Shipmaster Juan Sebastián de Elcano (del Cano) completed the trip to Spain, in the company of 17 others, all who have their names accounted in history along with Ferdinand Magellan.

More About Magellan and Elcano’s Voyage

Antonio Pigafetta’s journal is the main source for much of what we know about Magellan and Elcano's voyage. The other direct report of the voyage was that of Francisco Albo, last pilot of Victoria, who kept a formal logbook. Europeans first learned of the circumnavigation through a written account by Maximilianus Transylvanus, a relative of sponsor Christopher de Haro. In the account, first published in 1523, Transylvanus interviewed some of the survivors of the voyage, when Victoria returned to Spain in September 1522. Afterwards, he wrote the account that Europeans first widely read.