In the first quarter of the XVI century. Europeans learned about the hitherto unknown part of the coast of South America and the existence of a narrow strait, later called Magellanov. Brave sailors for the first time crossed the Pacific Ocean, proved that the Earth is round, and the World Ocean is a single whole. Fernand Magellan led this expedition, whose biography has been studied by many researchers, but the information available to historians has caused controversy and has been of great interest for several centuries.
The place and exact date of birth of the famous Portuguese and Spanish navigator are the subject of debate. Historians call two settlements in which he could be born: Porto and Sabroza. Fernand Magellan was born in 1840 in a poor, but noble noble family. As a page, he entered the retinue of Queen Leonora of Avis. Perhaps it was the Queen of Portugal that contributed to the admission of the young man to the nautical school. The naval service of the future pioneer began with participation in the eastern expedition (1505) as a supernumerary warrior.
There is information about the expeditions, equipped to study the Indian Ocean, which went young Magellan. Fernand served in various places. Short in stature, but physically strong and confident, he proved himself a brave warrior in naval battles and was awarded the rank of captain. In 1513, he returned to Portugal for a short while, and the next year went to Morocco, where he was wounded in the leg, after which he limped for the rest of his life. Immediately after the end of hostilities he was accused of secretly selling part of the military booty to the warring side. The outraged Fernand Magellan arbitrarily went to Portugal to justify himself, but caused the anger of King Manuel I with this act, and after retiring he was refused an increase in the size of his pension. In response to a request to allocate the ship to search for new sea lanes, the Portuguese king also refused.
Fernand Magellan moved to Spain, where after a long bargain he managed to convince the expedition of the more accommodating Spanish king about the necessity and profitability of the expedition. The main purpose of the trip was not geographical discoveries, but the Moluccas - a source of spices - "gold" of the XVI century. The sailor planned to reach the islands by a short route from America. His calculations, having maps of the shores of the South American continent and reports of sailors who visited those parts, he did not build from scratch. A flotilla of five ships loaded with cannons, other weapons, and various merchandise, set sail on September 20, 1519.
Incredible trials fell on the share of 256 people participating in a round-the-world regatta under the leadership of Magellan. September 6, 1522, only one worn-out ship called "Victoria" with an exhausted crew of 18 people moored to the Spanish coast. On board the ship there was no longer a man, thanks to the perseverance, strength and courage of which the world's first circumnavigation was made.
The navigator and pioneer Fernan Magellan personally did not complete the
trip around the world that made him famous all over the world, as he intervened in internecine feuds of the Aborigines and died on April 27, 1521 in a skirmish off the island of Mactan.