Fernan Magellan , a famous Portuguese navigator and explorer, was born in the small village of Sabroza in northern Portugal in the family of an impoverished knight. For some time he served as a soldier in an expeditionary force sent to India. At the beginning of the 16th century he returned to Portugal, where he proposed to the king a project to achieve the Spicy Islands, which are strategically important, by the western sea route. However, King Manuel I rejected Magellan's world travel, considering it utopian. In 1517, Magellan moved to Spain, where he proposed a similar plan. The Indian Council, which was engaged in all overseas affairs, gave the go-ahead for organizing the expedition, and soon the Spanish king Charles the First signed a decree on financing the expedition of Magellan. Work began on the search for captains and crews capable of making long sea crossings.
The beginning of the path and the first difficulties
The Portuguese was given the title of Viceroy of all open lands and given the right to a twentieth of all income from them. The organizational unit met many obstacles from both Portuguese agents and Spanish captains who did not want to be subordinate to the stranger. However, having overcome all differences, the small fleet consisting of five vessels: Victoria, Trinidad, Concepcion, San Antonio and Santiago, in September 1519 went to sea from the port of San Lucar. Thus began the round-the-world trip of Magellan. In November, they reached the coast of Brazil. And following the southern direction, the flotilla went to the bay of San Juan, where it remained to wait the winter. Soon, one of the ships of Magellan, which he sent for reconnaissance, died, another ship deserted back to Spain. With three ships the first round-the-world trip of Magellan was made. In November, they sailed into the ocean, which the famous sailor called the Pacific, since not a single storm happened throughout their journey. On the way, the expedition discovered the Mariana Islands. For a long time they were not able to replenish the supplies necessary for the crew, as a result of which many fell ill with scurvy, and some people died.
One step away from the goal
Nevertheless, the round-the-world trip of Fernand Magellan continued, and in March 1521 the flotilla reached a group of the Philippine Islands. In an effort to subjugate them, Magellan intervened in local civil strife, and during one of the punitive expeditions inland Fernand died in a clash with the inhabitants.
Magellan's round-the-world trip was drawing to a close, by this time there were already 2 ships, 113 sailors under the leadership of J. Carvalho, who was soon killed by the rebels. The Portuguese captured one of the ships and sailed towards the island of Borneo, another ship with a Spanish crew and under the leadership of Captain Del Cano crossed the Indian Ocean, and in September 1522 reached the port of San Lucar. Only 18 people completed Magellan's round-the-world voyage, but it radically turned over the seafaring routes and expanded the geography of sea voyages.