At the very beginning of the autumn of 1522, a ship arrived at the port of Seville, which the city had already forgotten about. 18 exhausted, dying sailors made up his entire crew. This ship returned from a journey that changed the course of history and influenced the way we live now.
Three years earlier, 5 ships under the command of Magellan went in search of an unknown strait. Many doubted the success of the expedition. Nevertheless, Ferdinand Magellan fulfilled the dream of Columbus - he reached the East, sailing west, although this journey cost him his life.
Somewhere in Portugal
In the biography of Ferdinand Magellan there are many white spots. So, historians know very little about childhood and the family of the future sailor. Even the place of his birth is definitely impossible to establish, only a year - 1480 and a country - Portugal. From about 10 years of age, this descendant of an impoverished noble family served as a page in the retinue of Leonora, Queen of Portugal, where he received his education.
Instead of fencing and court etiquette, the young page was interested in navigation, astronomy and cosmography. He was gloomy, unsociable, strong, squat and, like many people of short stature, ambitious. Outwardly, Ferdinand was more like a commoner than a descendant of a noble knightly family. His intravital images have not been preserved, but there is a portrait of Ferdinand Magellan (photo below), painted in the 17th century.
Navy Service
Believing that a person should be judged not by title and appearance, but by his actions, at 25, Ferdinand exchanged court life for service in the Portuguese navy. Volunteering on his first trip, Magellan traveled to India and Malaysia. During a military expedition, he was promoted to officer for judiciousness and courage. However, after 8 years, he had to resign due to a severe wound to his leg. He returned to Portugal, but received a cold welcome at the royal court.
New travel idea
Magellan was practically without money and honors, he was entitled to only a meager pension. It was then that he was captured by the idea, sailing from east to west, to open the shortest path to the Moluccas, which were famous for their spices. In that era in Europe, nutmeg and pepper were valued on a par with gold.
However, Manuel, the king of Portugal, who equipped ships for sailing in a way known all around (around Africa), considered Magellan’s bold project unprofitable. Then Ferdinand went to serve with the King of Spain, Carl, whom he was able to convince of the success of the upcoming expedition.
In 1494, the pope divided the world between two sea powers: Portugal received the whole East, and Spain - the West. Magellan's idea was to find a way to the Moluccas through the “Spanish” western waters. It was a daring plan, because no one had gone this route before, no one even knew for sure whether it existed. But if it is found, then Spain will become an incredibly rich country, and the discoverer himself will not remain on the way.
Hypotheses only
Why Ferdinand Magellan decided that you can reach the Moluccas, sailing to the west, the researchers do not know. Some believe that he found an old German map in the royal archive, on which he found a strait connecting the unknown southern sea with the Atlantic Ocean.
Others believe that Magellan only relied on rumors that replaced the sailors in those days, the locus. It is possible that he was just bluffing in order to get the support of the Spanish king. Magellan himself never shared this information with anyone.
Expedition Start
Going on a trip, Ferdinand Magellan was given command of 5 karak - ships designed for a long voyage. The route was supposed to lead an expedition from familiar waters to unknowns. Many considered this impossible. There were no descriptions of those seas, accurate maps, nothing that could help navigators navigate. Such an enterprise required remarkable courage. And Magellan, fearing that many would refuse to accompany him on the long voyage that he intended to take, did not fully reveal his plans.
At the end of September 1519, five Spanish ships left the port of Seville. At that time, Magellan turned 37 years old. At the port he was escorted by his pregnant wife Beatrice with his newly born son. They did not yet know that they were not destined to meet again.
From Spain to the end of the famous world
It would be wrong to think that Ferdinand Magellan went on a trip around the world. He did not set such a goal, his plan was purely commercial.
Soon after sailing, the weather worsened. The chronist of the expedition, Antonio Pigafetta, then wrote in his diaries:
Since it was not possible to move forward, in order to avoid a shipwreck, the sails were removed, and in this way we were carried here and there all the time the storm continued - it was so fierce. During the rain the wind died down. With the advent of the sun there was a lull.
After 4 months, a small flotilla reached the coast of South America. She anchored in the bay, where Rio de Janeiro would later be founded. Replenishing water and provisions, the expedition members sailed south, observing many amazing and strange things along the way:
There are countless parrots; they gave us eight in exchange for one mirror. Small monkeys are found, similar to lions, but yellow and very beautiful. The natives bake round white bread from the pulp located between the wood and the bark and resembling fermented milk; it doesn't taste good. There is a pig with a belly button on its back, as well as large birds without a tongue, but with beaks like spoons.
Finally they reached the borders of the then known world. So far not a single European has climbed. It seemed that the strait would be found here, since the coastline sharply turned to the west, and in the south land was no longer visible. Nevertheless, after 2 weeks of research, it turned out that it was not a strait, but a gigantic bay - the mouth of the La Plata river system. Magellan's belief in the existence of the strait was shaken, but he still decided to go where no one had been before. So they sailed south along the deserted coast, called Patagonia.
Riot suppression
On the last day of March 1520, a flotilla of Ferdinand Magellan found refuge in the bay of San Julian (1600 km from Antarctica). The ship sent from here to reconnaissance crashed. Members of the expedition suffered from hunger, fatigue, cold and from loss of spirit. When Magellan had to cut back on his diet and declare wintering, the captains of the ships demanded a return to Spain.
In the end, distrust of the secretive Portuguese and the difficulties of swimming resulted in rebellion. Magellan strengthened his authority in the usual way at that time: he ordered the murder of one of the rebel captains. After that, Magellan took control of the ship, the crew of which surrendered to his mercy, and blocked other ships from leaving the bay. Thus, the rebellion was suppressed. Among the rebellious Spanish officers was the young navigator Juan Sebastian Elcano. He, like others, was forgiven, and in the future in this epoch-making voyage he played an important role.
Ferdinand Magellan: what he discovered
After a 7-month wintering, four ships set sail again along the coast, exploring the many bays. Finally, the sailors found a whalebone - a sign that there is an open sea ahead. When the goal was close, the crew of the ship "San Antonio", taking advantage of the dense fog, turned back and headed for Spain.
It took Magellan more than a year to find the strait after sailing from Seville. On October 21, after a stubborn search, his expedition nevertheless entered the rocky narrow strait between Tierra del Fuego and Patagonia, later called Magellanov.
For another month, a small flotilla wound among numerous islands, until it finally reached the open waters. The unknown ocean met them with silence and bright sun. For this he was called Quiet.
Travel to the Philippines
Magellan in December 1520 led his small fleet to the north-west, but this was not a path to the islands, but to the very heart of the Pacific Ocean. The captain made a mistake thinking he was 3 days sailing from Molucca. His conclusions were based on maps of the time, based on calculations of the circumference of the earth made by Ptolemy. Magellan was to learn that the great Greek was mistaken for 11 thousand km. Instead of 3 days, they sailed for 5 months until they saw the land. These were the Philippines. The islands of spices lay only a week sailing from here.
Fatal decision
Instead of sailing to the Moluccas, Magellan began missionary work. In order to convince the natives to accept the new religion, it was necessary to demonstrate the invincibility of the Christian Spaniards. This was demonstrated, of course, by force of arms. Cannon shots scared the locals and made them recognize the power of the aliens.
Along with the baptism, Ferdinand Magellan demanded that the natives henceforth accept not only dependence on Spain, but also a lifestyle according to the new rules. Thus laid the foundation for the colonization of the Philippines.
But in April 1521, the captain made a fatal decision: in order to strengthen his authority in the eyes of the local leader, he intended to attack his opponent from the island of Mactan, who refused to be baptized. Today, an annual show is being played in front of tourists at the place where the natives and Spanish sailors came under the command of Magellan. They fought bravely, but the islanders outnumbered them. The body of the deceased Magellan was dismembered and buried in various places on the island of Mactan.
Long way home
Magellan did not go around the world, he did not even sail to the Moluccas. The remaining team on 2 ships went to the Moluccas, where they loaded holds with expensive goods. But in order to become rich, it was still necessary to return to Spain. They had to make a choice which way to sail home.
The ship "Trinidad" headed east through the Pacific Ocean, but was soon captured by the Portuguese. They looted the cargo, burned the ship, and threw the team into prison.
"Victoria" under the command of Elcano sailed west. 20 thousand km were separated from the homeland of sailors, and the path passed through the sphere of influence of the Portuguese. To avoid captivity, Elcano drove the ship with uncharted waters. The sailors had to survive the most severe storms, their provisions were running out. Most of the crew never reached their native Spain, dying of starvation and scurvy at sea. Starving, sick sailors without provisions and supplies of drinking water, ate worm crackers and cowhide from the sails. The most agile hunted ship rats, then selling their meat to their comrades for half a kilo of gold.
Of the 240 sailors who set sail in 1519, 18 returned to Seville in 1522, making their first voyage around the world. For this, Elcano received from the King of Spain as a reward a coat of arms with the globe and the inscription "You first circled me." Even today it is not easy to make such a voyage, to say nothing of the beginning of the 16th century.
Expedition Results
Despite the fact that he was unable to complete the voyage, Ferdinand Magellan entered the history as one of the legendary sailors. Victoria was the first ship to circumnavigate the globe. During the voyage, new trade routes were mapped, the Pacific Ocean was discovered and crossed, and the actual dimensions of the Earth were clarified. In addition, Magellan's journey proved the theory of the sphericity of the earth. And the strait discovered by him for the next four centuries was the main sea route to the Pacific Ocean until the construction of the Panama Canal at the beginning of the last century.