Ferdinand Magellan

"Magellan" redirects here. For the railcar, see Ferdinand Magellan (railcar). For other
uses, see Magellan (disambiguation). Ferdinand Magellan Ferdinand Magellan.jpg
Ferdinand Magellan, in a 16/17th century anonymous portrait Born Fernão de
Magalhães 4 February 1480 Sabrosa, Kingdom of Portugal Died 27 April 1521 (aged 41)
Chiefdom of Mactan Nationality Portuguese (renounced in 1517)[1][2] Known for The
Magellan expedition Finding the Strait of Magellan First European Pacific Ocean
crossing Signature Magellan Signature.svg Ferdinand Magellan (/məˈɡɛlən/[3] or
/məˈdʒɛlən/;[4] Portuguese: Fernão de Magalhães, IPA: [fɨɾˈnɐ̃w dɨ mɐɣɐˈʎɐ̃jʃ]; Spanish:
Fernando de Magallanes, IPA: [feɾˈnando ðe maɣaˈʎanes]; 4 February 1480 – 27 April
1521) was a Portuguese explorer and Hispanic Monarchy's subject from 1518. He is
best known for having planned and led the 1519 Spanish expedition to the East Indies
across the Pacific to open a maritime trade route in which he discovered the
interoceanic passage bearing thereafter his name and achieved the first European
navigation from the Atlantic to Asia. This expedition, where Magellan was killed in the
Battle of Mactan (present-day Philippines) in 1521, resulted in the first
circumnavigation of the Earth when one of the expedition's two remaining ships of five
eventually returned to Spain in 1522.[5][6] Born 4 February 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. King Manuel I of Portugal refused to support
Magellan's plan to reach the Maluku Islands (the "Spice Islands") by sailing westwards
around the American continent. Facing some criminal offences, Magellan left Portugal
and proposed the same expedition to King Charles I of Spain, who accepted it.
Consequently, many in Portugal considered him a traitor and he never returned.[7][8]
He adopted the name of Fernando de Magallanes and settled in Seville. There, he
married, fathered two children, and organised the expedition.[9] For his allegiance to
the Hispanic Monarchy, in 1518, Magellan was appointed admiral of the Spanish Fleet
and given command of the expedition -- the five-ship Armada of Molucca. He was also
made Commander of the Order of Santiago, one of the highest military ranks of the
Spanish Empire.[10] Granted special powers and privileges by the King, he led the
Armada from Sanlucar de Barrameda, southwest through the Atlantic Ocean, to the
eastern coast of South America, and down to Patagonia. Despite a series of storms and
mutinies, they made it through the Strait of Magellan into the Mar del Sur which he
renamed the "Peaceful Sea" (the modern Pacific Ocean).[11] The expedition reached
Guam and, shortly after, the Philippine islands. There Magellan was killed in the Battle
of Mactan, in April 1521. Under the command of captain Juan Sebastian Elcano, the
expedition later reached the Spice Islands. To navigate back to Spain and avoid seizure
by the Portuguese, the two remaining ships split, one attempting, unsuccessfully, to
reach New Spain sailing eastwards across the Pacific while the other, commanded by
Elcano, sailed westwards via the Indian Ocean and up the Atlantic coast of Africa, to
finally arrive at the expedition's port of departure, completing the first circuit of the
globe. While at the Kingdom of Portugal's service, 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.[12][13]

Magellan was born in the Portuguese town of Sabrosa on 4 February 1480.[14] His
father, Pedro de Magalhães, was a minor member of Portuguese nobility[14] and mayor
of the town. His mother was Alda de Mezquita.[15] Magellan's siblings included Diego
de Sosa and Isabel Magellan.[16] 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.[17] 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.[18] 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.[19] 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.[20][21] 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.[22] 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.[23][24] 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[25]), he left for Spain. In
Seville he befriended his countryman Diogo Barbosa and soon married the daughter of
Diogo's second wife, Maria Caldera Beatriz Barbosa.[26] They had two children:
Rodrigo de Magallanes[27] and Carlos de Magallanes, 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 renounced his Portuguese nationality
and 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. King Manuel I of Portugal saw this as an act of insult,
and he did everything in his power to disrupt Magellan’s arrangements for the voyage.
The Portuguese king allegedly ordered that Magellan’s properties be vandalized as it
was the Coat of arms of the Magellan displayed at the family house's façade in Sabrosa,
his home town; and may have even requested the assassination of the navigator. When
Magellan eventually sailed to the open seas in August 1519, a Portuguese fleet was sent
after him though failed to capture him.[28][better source needed] Magellan's fleet
consisted of five ships, carrying supplies for two years of travel. The crew consisted of
about 270 men of different origins, though the numbers may vary downwards among
scholars based on contradicting data from the many documents available. About 60 per
cent of the crew were Spaniards issued from virtually all regions of Castile. Portuguese
and Italian followed with 28 and 27 seamen respectively, while mariners from France
(15), Greece (8), Flanders (5), Germany (3), Ireland (2), England and Malaysia (one
each) and other people of unidentified origin completed the crew.[29][30][31] Voyage