| He
thought that this route would be shorter than the eastward trip
to the southern tip of Africa and across the Indian Ocean. Of
course, he thought that the Spice Islands were very close to
South America. He didn't realize how big the Pacific Ocean was.
Nobody knew at that time. King Manuel refused Magellan's proposal
because he didn't like Magellan.
Magellan
then studied astronomy and navigation for about two years. He
met a man named Ruy Falesrio who enjoyed listening to what Magellan
had to say. He influenced Magellan's life and in a way became
Magellan's partner. They finished their studies on the territory
of the Spice Islands, that were awarded to Spain in 1494.
In
1518 Magellan went left Portugal and went to Spain. He presented
the information he had learned about the Spice Islands. The
year after that, Magellan convinced King Charles I of Spain
to support his voyage. The king promised Magellan one-fifth
of the profits from the voyage to the Spice Islands.
Getting
the voyage ready took more that a year. The voyage began on
September 20, 1519. His first destination was southern Spain.
From his ship Magellan commanded a total of 241 men and a fleet
of five ships.
After
a brief stop at the Canary Islands, Magellan's fleet set sail
for Brazil on a southwest course. Cartegena, the ringleader
of a mutiny attempt, was relieved of his command of the San
Antonio and held prisoner aboard the Victoria. After crossing
the equator on November 20, 1519, the crew sighted Brazil on
December 6. Magellan thought it unwise to go near the Portuguese
territory since he was sailing under the Spanish flag. His fleet
eventually anchored off the coast of present-day Rio de Janiero,
out of the way of the Portuguese, on December 13th. After stocking
up on fresh food and water, the fleet made its way down the
east coast of South America looking for a passage to the Pacific
Ocean. The farther south they sailed, the colder the weather.
The weather was so bad, the fleet decided to spend the winter
in Patagonia. The area where they settled on March 31, 1520,
was called San Julian.
When
Magellan reached Patagonia (present-day Argentina), another
mutiny was attempted. Cartegena, released by captain Mendoza,
attempted once again to take over the fleet and have Magellan
killed. The Portuguese explorer was able to put down the rebellion
by marooning Cartegena in the barren Patagonia, imprisoning
some, and having Quesada and other rebels executed.
During the cold summer months, Magellan sent the Santiago on
a reconnaissance mission down the coast to look for a passage
to the other side of the continent. Unfortunately in May, the
Santiago wrecked in rough seas. In the latter half of August,
Magellan decided it was time to move the remaining four ships
south to look for a passage. Finally in October, the fleet sighted
a strait and started through it. Magellan named it the strait
of All Saints, but it later was named after him. The strait
was a tricky passage that took the fleet 38 days to pass through.
While sailing at night, the crew saw countless fires from distant
Indian camps. They called the land Tierra del Fuego (land of
fire). During the passage, the captain of the San Antonio sailed
his ship back toward Spain, taking with him most of the fleet's
provisions. The loss of the San Antonio was a severe blow to
the men on the remaining ships. They had to double their efforts
to hunt game and fish to keep from starving.
During
the last week of November the three ships emerged from the strait
to the open sea of the Pacific. Magellan mistakenly thought
the Spice Islands were a short voyage away. He had no idea of
the immense size of the ocean and thought he could cross it
in two to three days. The voyage took approximately four months.
Conditions
aboard the ships were abominable. The crew began to starve as
food stores were depleted. The water turned putrid and yellow
in color. The crew survived on sawdust, leather strips from
the sails, and rats. Without the benefit of vitamin C in fresh
fruits and vegetables, the men also came down with scurvy.
Finally
in January, 1521, the crew stopped off at an island to feast
on fish, crabs, and seabird eggs, but without fresh fruit and
vegetables, scurvy still plagued the crew. In March, the crew
stopped in Guam and were able to supply the ships with food
including fresh fruit, vegetables, and water. They sailed on
to the Philippines, arriving on March 28. After befriending
an island king, Magellan foolishly got involved in the natives'
tribal warfare and was killed in battle on [April 27, 1521].
Sebastian del Cano took over the remaining three ships and 115
survivors. Because there were not enough men to crew three ships,
del Cano had the Concepcion burned. The two remaining ships
sailed from the Philippines on May 1 and made it to the Moluccas
(Spice Islands) in November. Both ships loaded with valuable
spices.
In
an attempt to guarantee that at least one ship would make it
back to Spain, the Trinidad went east across the Pacific, while
the Victoria continued west. The Trinidad did not make it back.
The ship was seized by the Portuguese and most of her crew were
killed. The Victoria managed to elude the Portuguese as it crossed
enemy trade routes in the Indian Ocean and rounded the Cape
of Good Hope. On [September 6, 1522], almost three years from
the day it began its historic journey, the Victoria and 18 crew
members, (Pigafetta among them) arrived in Spain. It was the
first vessel to circumnavigate the globe
...
this story has come to us thanks to an italian, Pigafetta, who
joined the expedition and kept a diary of the voyage and published
his memories of this first circumnavigation. |
