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Ferdinand Magellan

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"Magellan" redirects here. For the railcar, see Ferdinand Magellan (railcar). For other uses, see Magellan
(disambiguation).

Ferdinand Magellan (/məˈɡɛlən/[1] or /məˈdʒɛlən/;[2] Portuguese: Fernão de Magalhães, IPA: [fɨɾˈnɐ̃w

dɨ mɐɣɐˈʎɐ̃jʃ]; Spanish: Fernando de Magallanes, IPA: [feɾˈnando ðe maɣaˈʎanes]; c. 1480 – 27 April
1521) was a Portuguese explorer who organised the Spanish expedition to the East Indies from 1519 to
1522, resulting in the first circumnavigation of the Earth, which was completed by Juan Sebastián
Elcano.

Ferdinand Magellan

Ferdinand Magellan.jpg

Ferdinand Magellan, in a 16/17th century anonymous portrait

Born

Fernão de Magalhães

c. 1480

Sabrosa, Portugal

Died
27 April 1521 (aged 41)

Kingdom of Mactan

(now Lapu-Lapu City, Philippines)

Nationality

Portuguese

Known for

The first circumnavigation of the Earth

Signature

Magellan Signature.svg

Born around 1480 into a family of minor Portuguese nobility, Magellan became a skilled sailor and naval
officer and was in service of the Portuguese crown in Asia. After King Manuel I of Portugal refused to
support his plan to reach India by a new route, by sailing around the southern end of the South
American continent, he was eventually selected by King Charles I of Spain to search for a westward
route to the Maluku Islands (the "Spice Islands"). Commanding a fleet of five vessels, he headed south
through the Atlantic Ocean to Patagonia. Despite a series of storms and mutinies, they made it through
the Strait of Magellan into a body of water he named the "peaceful sea" (the modern Pacific Ocean).[3]
The expedition reached the Philippine islands, where Magellan was killed during the Battle of Mactan.
The expedition later reached the Spice Islands in 1521 and one of the surviving ships eventually returned
home via the Indian Ocean, completing the first circuit of the globe.

Magellan had already reached the Malay Archipelago in Southeast Asia on previous voyages traveling
east (from 1505 to 1511–1512). By visiting this area again but now travelling west, Magellan achieved a
nearly complete personal circumnavigation of the globe for the first time in history.[4][5]

Early life and travels

House where Magellan lived, in Sabrosa, Portugal.

Magellan was born in the Portuguese town of Sabrosa in or around 1480.[6] His father, Pedro de
Magalhães, was a minor member of Portuguese nobility[6] and mayor of the town. His mother was Alda
de Mezquita.[7] Magellan's siblings included Diego de Sosa and Isabel Magellan.[8] He was brought up
as a page of Queen Eleanor, consort of King John II. In 1495 he entered the service of Manuel I, John's
successor.[9]

In March 1505 at the age of 25, Magellan enlisted in the fleet of 22 ships sent to host Francisco de
Almeida as the first viceroy of Portuguese India. Although his name does not appear in the chronicles, it
is known that he remained there eight years, in Goa, Cochin and Quilon. He participated in several
battles, including the battle of Cannanore in 1506, where he was wounded. In 1509 he fought in the
battle of Diu.[10]

Effigy of Ferdinand Magellan in the Monument of the Discoveries, in Lisbon, Portugal.

He later sailed under Diogo Lopes de Sequeira in the first Portuguese embassy to Malacca, with
Francisco Serrão, his friend and possibly cousin.[11] In September, after arriving at Malacca, the
expedition fell victim to a conspiracy ending in retreat. Magellan had a crucial role, warning Sequeira
and risking his life to rescue Francisco Serrão and others who had landed.[12][13]

In 1511, under the new governor Afonso de Albuquerque, Magellan and Serrão participated in the
conquest of Malacca. After the conquest their ways parted: Magellan was promoted, with a rich plunder
and, in the company of a Malay he had indentured and baptized, Enrique of Malacca, he returned to
Portugal in 1512 or 1513.[14] Serrão departed in the first expedition sent to find the "Spice Islands" in
the Moluccas, where he remained. He married a woman from Amboina and became a military advisor to
the Sultan of Ternate, Bayan Sirrullah. His letters to Magellan would prove decisive, giving information
about the spice-producing territories.[15][16]

After taking a leave without permission, Magellan fell out of favour. Serving in Morocco, he was
wounded, resulting in a permanent limp. He was accused of trading illegally with the Moors. The
accusations were proven false, but he received no further offers of employment after 15 May 1514.
Later on in 1515, he got an employment offer as a crew member on a Portuguese ship, but rejected this.
In 1517 after a quarrel with King Manuel I, who denied his persistent demands to lead an expedition to
reach the spice islands from the east (i.e., while sailing westwards, seeking to avoid the need to sail
around the tip of Africa[17]), he was allowed to leave for Spain. In Seville he befriended his countryman
Diogo Barbosa and soon married the daughter of Diogo's second wife, Maria Caldera Beatriz Barbosa.
[18] They had two children: Rodrigo de Magalhães[19] and Carlos de Magalhães, both of whom died at a
young age. His wife died in Seville around 1521.
Meanwhile, Magellan devoted himself to studying the most recent charts, investigating, in partnership
with cosmographer Rui Faleiro, a gateway from the Atlantic to the South Pacific and the possibility of the
Moluccas being Spanish according to the demarcation of the Treaty of Tordesillas.

Voyage of circumnavigation

Main article: Armada de Molucca

See also: Timeline of the Magellan–Elcano circumnavigation

Background and preparations

Victoria, the sole ship of Magellan's fleet to complete the circumnavigation. Detail from a map by
Ortelius, 1590.

After having his proposed expeditions to the Spice Islands repeatedly rejected by King Manuel of
Portugal, Magellan turned to Charles I, the young King of Spain (and future Holy Roman Emperor).
Under the 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas, Portugal controlled the eastern routes to Asia that went around
Africa. Magellan instead proposed reaching the Spice Islands by a western route, a feat which had never
been accomplished. Hoping that this would yield a commercially useful trade route for Spain, Charles
approved the expedition, and provided most of the funding.

Magellan's fleet consisted of five ships, carrying supplies for two years of travel. The crew consisted of
about 270 men.[20] Most were Spanish, but around 40 were Portuguese.[21]

Voyage

This section needs additional citations for verification.

The fleet left Spain on 20 September 1519, sailing west across the Atlantic toward South America. In
December, they made landfall at Rio de Janeiro. From there, they sailed south along the coast, searching
for a way through or around the continent. After three months of searching (including a false start in the
estuary of Río de la Plata), weather conditions forced the fleet to stop their search to wait out the
winter. They found a sheltered natural harbor at the port of Saint Julian, and remained there for five
months. Shortly after landing at St. Julian, there was a mutiny attempt led by the Spanish captains Juan
de Cartagena, Gaspar de Quesada and Luis de Mendoza. Magellan barely managed to quell the mutiny,
despite at one point losing control of three of his five ships to the mutineers. Mendoza was killed during
the conflict, and Magellan sentenced Quesada and Cartagena to being beheaded and marooned,
respectively. Lower-level conspirators were made to do hard labor in chains over the winter, but later
freed.

During the winter, one of the fleet's ships, the Santiago, was lost in a storm while surveying nearby
waters, though no men were killed. Following the winter, the fleet resumed their search for a passage to
the Pacific in October 1520. Three days later, they found a bay which eventually led them to a strait,
now known as the Strait of Magellan, which allowed them passage through to the Pacific. While
exploring the strait, one of the remaining four ships, the San Antonio, deserted the fleet, returning east
to Spain. The fleet reached the Pacific by the end of November 1520. Based on the incomplete
understanding of world geography at the time, Magellan expected a short journey to Asia, perhaps
taking as little as three or four days.[22] In fact, the Pacific crossing took three months and twenty days.
The long journey exhausted their supply of food and water, and around 30 men died, mostly of scurvy.
[23] Magellan himself remained healthy, perhaps because of his personal supply of preserved quince.

On 6 March 1521, the exhausted fleet made landfall at the island of Guam and were met by native
Chamorro people who came aboard the ships and took items such as rigging, knives, and a ship's boat.
The Chamorro people may have thought they were participating in a trade exchange (as they had
already given the fleet some supplies), but the crew interpreted their actions as theft.[24] Magellan sent
a raiding party ashore to retaliate, killing several Chamorro men, burning their houses, and recovering
the 'stolen' goods.[25] On 16 March, the fleet reached the Philippines, where they would remain for a
month and a half. Magellan befriended local leaders on the island of Limasawa, and on 31 March, held
the first Mass in the Philippines, planting a cross on the island's highest hill. Magellan set about
converting the locals to Christianity. Most accepted the new religion readily, but the island of Mactan
resisted. On 21 April, Magellan and members of his crew attempted to subdue the Mactan natives by
force, but in the ensuing battle, the Europeans were overpowered and Magellan was killed.

Following his death, Magellan was initially succeeded by co-commanders Juan Serrano and Duarte
Barbosa (with a series of other officers later leading). The fleet left the Philippines (following a bloody
betrayal by former ally Rajah Humabon) and eventually made their way to the Moluccas in November
1521. Laden with spices, they attempted to set sail for Spain in December, but found that only one of
their remaining two ships, the Victoria, was seaworthy. The Victoria, captained by Juan Sebastián Elcano,
finally returned to Spain by 6 September 1522, completing the circumnavigation. Of the 270 men who
left with the expedition, only 18 or 19 survivors returned.[26]

Death
Reputation following circumnavigation

Legacy

See also

References

Further reading

External links

Last edited 7 days ago by UpdateNerd

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