Magellan was born in Minho, Portugal during the year 1480. He was raised on his family’s farm and was schooled at a nearby monastery. His father high sheriff of Aveiro and used his influence to attain a position for Magellan at Queen Leonora’s School of Pages.
In early 1505, he joined the fleet of Francisco Almeida and sailed to the Orient, where he spent the next eight years. It was during this time that he learned the skills that would serve him well later in life. During his travels, he came to believe that the Spice Islands could be reached by sailing West instead of East.
Ferdinand Magellan and his Great Voyage
In 1512, he returned to Portugal determined to find the financial backing for an expedition to discover a western route to the Spice Islands. Unable to find support in his native country after several years of trying, Magellan went to Spain in October of 1517 where he married Beatriz, the daughter of Diogo Barbosa, the governor of the Castle of Seville.
Several months later, on March 22, 1518, Magellan met King Charles I of Spain, who immediately agreed to finance the voyage.
It took a year to prepare for the journey, but on September 20, 1519, Magellan set sail from San Luca, Spain with 277 crewmen spread among five ships: the Victoria, the Santiago, the Concepcion, the San Antonio, and the Trinidad, his flagship.
The voyage across the Atlantic to South America was fraught with mutiny attempts and very bad storms. Magellan arrived in Rio de Janerio, Brazil on December 13, 1519, where he re-supplied with provisions from the natives. He sailed down the coast, battered by storms and anchored at San Julian in Southern Argentina on March 31, 1520.
He was forced to deal with another mutiny attempt and remained in that harbor for seven months to wait out the worst of the winter storms. The Santiago was lost during a storm, having been blown against the shore.
Straights of Magellan
On October 21, 1520, Magellan arrived at the pass around the tip of South America, which was later named for him. It was here that the San Antonio, his largest ship that carried most of his supplies, deserted and returned to Spain.
Still, Magellan pressed onward. During the voyage across the Pacific, almost half of his remaining crewmen died of scurvy and starvation. The surviving men began eating rats and sawdust. Finally, after 98 days and 13,000 miles across the Pacific, Magellan reached Guam.
Death of Ferdinand Magellan
Magellan sailed next to the Philipines, arriving on March 16, 1521, and claimed the islands for Spain. He began converting the local islanders to Christianity. Initially, he was welcomed but when he tried to force the local raja to honor him, the man refused.
Magellan assembled a small army and led an attack on the morning of April 27, 1521. After realizing the he was hopelessly outnumbered, he ordered a retreat. Panic ensued when his men raced to shore and rowed back to the ships. Magellan was left behind and after a brief fight on the shoreline, he was killed.
Legacy of Ferdinand Magellan
On September 8, 1522, the Victoria, the last remaining ship, with only a crew of 18 men sailed into the harbor of Seville, Spain, laden with riches from the Spice Islands. The Conception had been burned before arriving at the Spice Islands and the Trinidad had been captured by the Portuguese, its crewmen hung.
At first, Magellan’s reputation was sullied but over time, what he had accomplished overshadowed the disaster of an expedition. Although he didn’t live to complete the voyage, his 18 surviving men had circumnavigated the globe after a journey of three years and 42,000 miles.
Source:
Kline, James. “Ferdinand Magellan.” Explorers. Vol 2 Salem Press, Inc. Pasadena, CA, 1998
