Ferdinand Magellan years of discovery. Ferdinand Magellan

Magellan (Magalyansh, Magalhaes) Fernand (about 1480 - April 27, 1521) - navigator, whose expedition made the first circumnavigation of the world. Portuguese by origin. He was born in the village of Sabroza in the region of Traz osh Montis in the family of a knight. He served as a soldier on an expedition sent to India in 1505. After the capture of Cannanore (1506) he was a Portuguese agent in Sofala (East Africa). In 1508 he again served in India, then visited Malacca, was in the Moluccas, Sumatra, Java, the Banda Islands, Amboina; in 1513 he returned to Portugal.

In 1517, Magellan, after the rejection by the Portuguese king Manuel I of the project he put forward to reach the Moluccas by the western route, emigrated to Spain. By that time, access to the Pacific Ocean (1513) showed the possibility of reaching Asia by the western route. Without doubting the existence of a strait in the south South America, Magellan claimed that the Moluccas are located in the western, Spanish hemisphere (according to the Tordesillas Treaty of 1494, which divided the world into two parts - Spanish and Portuguese) and the path to them is not far. The project to reach the Moluccas, proposed by Magellan, found the support of the "Indian Council", which was in charge of overseas affairs, and in the spring of 1518 the Spanish king Charles I signed an agreement according to which he took the expedition's equipment to the treasury, and Magellan was given the title of governor of all the lands that he would open, and the right to a twentieth share of the income from them. The equipment of the expedition met with many obstacles. Magellan had to overcome great difficulties even after going to sea: the Portuguese agents, taking advantage of the diversity of the crews, sowed discord. The Spanish captains, dissatisfied with submission to a foreigner, also kindled the turmoil.

The flotilla of Magellan, consisting of five ships with a crew of 265 people, left the port of San Lucar in September 1519 and reached Brazil at the end of November. Following along the coast to the south, the squadron at the end of March 1520 entered the bay of San Julian and stood up for the winter; here a rebellion broke out on three ships, brutally suppressed by Magellan. In May, the Santiago ship sent for reconnaissance was lost. In October, the flotilla entered the Strait (later called the Strait of Magellan), from where the San Antonio ship deserted to Spain. With the three remaining ships, Magellan entered the ocean in November, which he called the Pacific. Magellan passed through the most deserted part of it, meeting only two uninhabited islets. Until the Mariana Islands, reached in March 1521, Magellan could not replenish food and water supplies, which led to scurvy and the death of part of the crew. In March, Magellan approached the first Asian group of islands - the Philippines. In an effort to conquer the newly discovered lands, he intervened in the feuds of local rulers. Having entered into an alliance with the ruler of the island of Cebu, who declared himself a vassal Spanish king, Magellan organized a punitive campaign on the island of Matan, during which he died in a skirmish with the inhabitants of the island.

On two ships (the third - "Concepción" - was burned due to dilapidation) - "Victoria" and "Trinidad" - 113 sailors under the command of J. Carvalho, and after his displacement - G. de Espinosa, continuing the search for "spicy" islands, visited Borneo (Kalimantan) and in November 1521 reached the island of Tidore of the Moluccan group. Taking a cargo of spices, the ships separated: "Trinidad" after an unsuccessful attempt to return through Pacific Ocean was captured by the Portuguese, and the Victoria, commanded by an experienced sailor Juan Elcano, crossed the Indian Ocean and, bypassing the Cape of Good Hope, reached San Lucar in September 1522. Only 18 people completed the round-the-world trip.

The appearance of the Spaniards in the Moluccas caused a sharp aggravation of the rivalry of the Iberian powers and opened the Pacific Ocean for European expansion. The voyage of the expedition of Magellan finally proved the sphericity of the Earth, established the existence of a single sea ocean and showed that most of the Earth's surface is covered with water.

The Strait of Magellan is named after Magellan.

F. Magellan's first circumnavigation

In the conquest of India and Malacca from 1505 to 1511, the poor Portuguese nobleman Ferdinand Magellan participated - as he is commonly called; his true surname is Magallans. He was born about 1480 in Portugal; in 1509 and 1511 reached Malacca on Portuguese ships, and according to S. Morison, even the "Spice Islands" (Ambon Island)

In 1512, 1515 he fought in North Africa where he was wounded. Returning to his homeland, he asked the king for a promotion, but was refused. Insulted, Magellan left for Spain and entered into a company with the Portuguese astronomer Rui Faleiro, who assured that he had found a way to accurately determine geographic longitudes. In March 1518, both appeared in Seville at the Council of India and declared that the Moluccas, the most important source of Portuguese wealth, should belong to Spain, since they are located in the western, Spanish hemisphere (according to the treaty of 1494), but it is necessary to penetrate to these "Spice Islands" by the western route, so as not to arouse the suspicions of the Portuguese, through the South Sea, open and annexed by Balboa to the Spanish possessions. And Magellan convincingly argued that between the Atlantic Ocean and the South Sea there should be a strait south of Brazil. Magellan and Faleyru demanded at first the same rights and privileges that had been promised to Columbus. After a long bargain with the royal advisers, who negotiated for themselves a substantial share of the expected income, and after concessions from the Portuguese, an agreement was concluded with them: Charles I undertook to equip five ships and supply the expedition with supplies for two years. Before sailing, Faleiro abandoned the enterprise, and Magellan, undoubtedly the soul of the whole thing, became the sole head of the expedition. He raised the admiral's flag on the "Trinidad" (100 tons). The Spaniards were appointed captains of the remaining ships: "San Antonio" (120 tons) - Juan Cartagena, who also received the powers of the royal controller of the expedition; "Concepcion" (90 tons) - Gaspar Quesada; "Victoria" (85 tons) - Luis Mendoza and "Santiago" (75 tons) -

Juan, Serrano. The staff of the entire flotilla was estimated at 293 people, there were 26 more freelance crew members on board, among them the young Italian Antonio Pigafetta, the future historian of the expedition. Since he was neither a sailor nor a geographer, a very important primary source is the entries in the ship's logs that Francisco Albo, assistant navigator, kept on the Trinidad. An international team went on the first round-the-world voyage: in addition to the Portuguese and Spaniards, it included representatives of more than 10 nationalities.

On September 20, 1519, the flotilla left the port of San Lucar at the mouth of the Guadalquivir. When crossing the ocean, Magellan developed good system signaling, the different types of ships of his flotilla never parted. Disagreements between him and the Spanish captains began very soon: beyond the Canary Islands, Cartagena demanded that the chief consult with him regarding any change of course. Magellan calmly and proudly replied: "Your duty is to follow my flag by day and my lantern by night." A few days later, Cartagena raised the issue again. Then Magellan, who was distinguished, despite his small stature, was large physical force, grabbed him by the collar and ordered him to be kept in custody on the Victoria, and appointed his relative, the supernumerary sailor Alvara Mishkita, as the captain of the San Antonio.

On September 26, the flotilla approached the Canary Islands, on November 29 it reached the coast of Brazil near 8 ° S. sh., December 13 - Guanabara Bay, and December 26 - La Plata. The navigators of the expedition were the best at that time: performing the determination of latitudes, they made adjustments to the map of the already known part of the mainland. So, Cape Cabo Frio, by their definition, is located not at 25 ° S, but at 23 ° S. – their error was less than 2 km from its true position. Not trusting the messages of the satellites of Solis, Magellan examined both low-lying banks of La Plata for about a month; continuing the discovery of the flat territory of the Pampa, begun by Lisboa and Solis, he sent the Santiago up the Parana, and, of course, did not find a passage to the South Sea. Beyond lay an unknown, sparsely populated land. And Magellan, fearing to miss the entrance to the elusive strait, on February 2, 1520, ordered to weigh anchor and move as close as possible to the coast only during the day, and stop in the evening. At the stop on February 13 in the large bay of Bahia Blanca he discovered, the flotilla withstood a terrible thunderstorm, during which the fires of St. Elmo appeared on the masts of the ships. On February 24, Magellan discovered another large bay - San Matias, rounded the Valdez Peninsula he had identified and took refuge for the night in a small harbor, which he named Puerto San Matias (Golfo Nuevo Bay of our maps, at 43 ° S lat.). To the south, near the mouth of the river. Chubut On February 27, the flotilla came across a huge concentration of penguins and southern elephant seals. To replenish food supplies, Magellan sent a boat to the shore, but an unexpectedly flowing squall threw the ships into the open sea. The sailors who remained on the shore, in order not to die from the cold, covered themselves with the bodies of dead animals. Having taken the “procurers”, Magellan moved south, pursued by storms, explored another bay, San Jorge, and spent six stormy days in a narrow bay (Rio Deseado estuary, near 48 ° S. lat.). On March 31, when the approach of winter became noticeable, he decided to spend the winter in San Julian Bay (at 49 ° S). Four ships entered the bay, and the Trinidad anchored at the entrance to it. The Spanish officers wanted to force Magellan to "follow the royal instructions": turn to the Cape of Good Hope and go east to the Moluccas. That same night the riot began. Cartagena was released, the rebels captured the Victoria, Concepción and San Antonio, arrested Mishquita, and Quesada mortally wounded an assistant loyal to Magellan. They aimed their guns at the Trinidad and demanded that Magellan come to them for negotiations. Against the two ships of the admiral were three rebellious, prepared for battle. But the rebels did not trust their sailors, and on one ship they even disarmed them.

In difficult circumstances, Magellan showed a calm determination. He sent his faithful alguacil (police officer) Gonzalo Gomez Espinosa with several sailors to the Victoria to invite her captain for negotiations on the admiral's ship. He refused, then the alguasil plunged a dagger into his throat, and one sailor finished him off. Magellan's brother-in-law, the Portuguese Duarte Barbosa, immediately took possession of the Victoria and was appointed her captain. Now the rebels had only two ships, and so that they would not desert, the prudent admiral, as mentioned above, had previously taken a convenient position at the exit from the bay. The San Antonio tried to break into the ocean, but the sailors, after a volley from the Trinidad, tied up the officers and surrendered. The same thing happened at the Concepción. Magellan dealt harshly with the rebel captains: he ordered the head of Quesada to be cut off, the corpse of Mendoza to be quartered, and Cartagena to be landed on a deserted coast with a conspiring priest, but he spared the rest of the rebels.

In early May, the admiral sent Serrano to the Santiago south for reconnaissance, but on May 3 the ship crashed on the rocks near the river. Santa Cruz (at 50° S) and his crew managed to escape with difficulty (one sailor died).

Magellan transferred Serrano as captain on the Concepción.

Indians of very tall stature approached the wintering place. They were called Patagonians (in Spanish "patagon" - big-footed), their country has since been called Patagonia. Pigafetta exaggeratedly described the Patagonians as real giants. On August 24, the flotilla left San Julian Bay and reached the mouth of Santa Cruz, where it stayed until mid-October, waiting for the onset of spring. On October 18, the flotilla moved south along the Patagonian coast, which forms in this area (between 50 and 52 ° S) the wide bay of Bahia Grande. Before going to sea, Magellan told the captains that he would look for a passage to the South Sea and turn east if he did not find a strait up to 75 ° S. sh., that is, he himself doubted the existence of the "Patagonian Strait", but wanted to continue the enterprise to the last opportunity. The bay, or strait, leading to the west, was found on October 21, 1520 at 52 ° S. sh., after Magellan discovered the previously unknown Atlantic coast of South America for about 3.5 thousand km (between 34 and 52 ° S. latitude).

Rounding Cape Dev (Cabo Virgenes), the admiral sent two ships ahead to find out if there was an exit to the open sea in the west. A storm arose during the night and lasted two days. The ships sent were threatened with death, but at the most difficult moment they noticed a narrow strait, rushed there and found themselves in a relatively wide bay; along it they continued their journey and saw another strait, behind which a new, wider bay opened.

Then the captains of both ships - Mishkita and Serrano - decided to return and report to Magellan that, apparently, they had found a passage leading to the South Sea. “... We saw these two ships approaching us in full sail with flags fluttering in the wind. Coming closer to us ... they began to shoot from guns and noisily and greet us. However, it was still far from entering the South Sea: Magellan walked south for several days through narrow straits until he saw two channels near about. Dawson: one to the southeast, the other to the southwest. He sent the San Antonio and the Concepción to the southeast, and a boat to the southwest. The sailors returned "three days later with the news that they had seen the cape and the open sea." The Admiral shed tears of joy and called this Cape Desired.

"Trinidad" and "Victoria" entered the south-western channel, anchored there waiting for four days and returned back to connect with two other ships, but there was only "Concepción": in the south-east, she came to a dead end - into Inutil Bay - and turned back. The San Antonio hit another stalemate; on the way back, without finding the flotilla on the spot, the officers wounded and shackled Mishkita and at the end of March 1521 returned to Spain. The deserters accused Magellan of treason in order to justify themselves, and they were believed: Mishkita was arrested, Magellan's family was deprived of state benefits. His wife and two children soon died in poverty. But the admiral did not know under what circumstances the San Antonio disappeared. He believed that the ship was lost, since Mishkita was his trusted friend. Following along the northern coast of the strongly narrowed Patagonian Strait (as Magellan called it), he rounded the southernmost point of the South American continent - Cape Froward (on the Brunswick Peninsula, 53 ° 54 "S) and for another five days (November 23-28) led three ships to the northwest as if along the bottom of a mountain gorge. High mountains (southern end of the Patagonian Kor dealers) and bare shores, it seemed, were deserted, but in the south during the day smokes were visible, and at night - the fires of fires. And Magellan called this southern land, the size of which he did not know, "Land of Fire" (Tierra del Fuego). On our maps, it is inaccurately called Tierra del Fuego. 38 days later, after Magellan found the Atlantic entrance to the strait, which really connects the two oceans, he passed Cape Desired (now Pilar at the Pacific exit from the Strait of Magellan (about 550 km).

On November 28, 1520, Magellan left the strait into the open ocean and led the remaining three ships first to the north, trying to leave the cold high latitudes as soon as possible and keeping about 100 km from the rocky coast. On December 1, it passed near the Taitao Peninsula (near 47 ° S), and then the ships moved away from the mainland - on December 5, the maximum distance was 300 km. On December 12-15, Magellan again approached the coast quite close at 40 and 38 ° 30 "S, that is, at least at three points he saw high mountains - the Patagonian Cordillera and southern part Main Cordillera. From about. Mocha (38°30"S) the ships turned to the northwest, and on December 21, being at 30°S and 80°W, they turned to the west-northwest.

Of course, it cannot be said that during his 15-day voyage north of the Strait, Magellan discovered the coast of South America for 1500 km, but he at least proved that in the latitude range from 53 ° 15 "to 38 ° 30" S. w, the western coast of the mainland has an almost meridional direction.

“... We ... plunged into the expanses of the Pacific Sea. For three months and twenty days we were completely deprived of fresh food. We ate rusk, but it was no longer rusk, but rusk dust mixed with worms ... It smelled strongly of rat urine. We drank yellow water that had been rotting for days. We also ate cowhides that covered the yards... We soaked them in sea water for four or five days, after which we put them on hot coals for several minutes and ate them. We often ate sawdust. Rats were sold for half a ducat apiece, but even at that price it was impossible to get them ”(Pigafetta). Almost everyone had scurvy; 19 people died, including a Brazilian and a Patagonian "giant". Fortunately, the weather was good all the time; that is why Magellan called the Pacific Ocean.

Probably, it was during the passage through the Pacific Ocean in the southern hemisphere that the satellites of Magellan drew attention to two star systems, which later received the name of the large and Small Magellanic clouds. " South Pole not as stellar as the northern one, - writes Pigafetta, - Here clusters are visible a large number small stars resembling clouds of dust. There is little distance between them and they are somewhat dim. Among them are two large, but not very bright stars moving very slowly." He meant two stars in the circumpolar constellation Hydra. The Spaniards also discovered "five extraordinarily brightly sparkling stars arranged in a cross ..." - the constellation Cross, or the Southern Cross.

Crossing the Pacific Ocean, Magellan's flotilla covered at least 17 thousand km, most of them in the waters of South Polynesia and Micronesia, where countless small islands are scattered. It is amazing that at the same time, the sailors met for all the time only "two deserted islands, on which they found only birds and trees." According to Albo's records, the first (San Pablo), discovered on January 24, 1521, is at 16 ° 15 "and the second (Tivurones, i.e. "Sharks", February 4) is at 10 ° 40" S. sh. Magellan and Albo determined the latitude very accurately for that time, but since there is no need to talk about the correct calculation of longitude in the 16th century, it is impossible to confidently identify these islands with any islands on our maps (It is most likely that San Pablo is one of the northeastern islands of the Tuamotu archipelago, Tivurones is one of the southern Line Islands (Central Polynesia).). On this segment, Magellan, perform the first measurement sea ​​depths, which can be classified as "scientific". He could not reach the bottom with the help of six connected lines of several hundred fathoms and came to the conclusion that he had discovered the deepest part of the ocean.

Historians are perplexed why Magellan crossed the equator and went beyond 10 ° N. sh. - he knew that the Moluccas are located at the equator. But it is there that the South Sea lies, already known to the Spaniards. Perhaps Magellan wanted to make sure that it was really part of the newly discovered ocean.

On March 6, 1521, two inhabited islands finally appeared in the west (Guam and Rota, the southernmost of the Marianas group). Dozens of boats with balancers came out to meet the foreigners. They sailed with the help of triangular "Latin" sails sewn from palm leaves. Off Guam (13°30" N. latitude) the inhabitants - swarthy, well-built people, naked (the women wore loincloths, "a narrow strip of paper-thin bark"), but in small hats made of palm leaves - climbed on the ship and grabbed everything that caught their eye, as a result of which this group was called the "Robber Islands" (Ladrones).

When the islanders stole a boat tied to the stern, an annoyed Magellan landed on the shore with a detachment, burned several dozen huts and boats, killed seven people and returned the boat. “When one of the natives was wounded by arrows from our crossbows, which pierced him through, he swung the end of the arrow in all directions, pulled it out, examined it with great amazement, and died like that ...”

March 15, 1521, having traveled to the west for another 2 thousand km, the sailors saw mountains rising from the sea - it was Fr. Samar is an East Asian group of islands later called the Philippines. Magellan searched in vain for a place to anchor - Rocky coast islands did not present a single chance. The ships moved a little to the south, to the islet of Siargao near the southern tip of about. Samar (at 10 ° 45 "N. Lat.) and spent the night there. The length of the path traveled by Magellan from South America to the Philippines turned out to be many times greater than the distance shown on the maps of that time between the New World and Japan. In fact, Magellan proved that between America and tropical Asia lies a giant body of water, much wider than the Atlantic Ocean. about a real revolution in geography.It turned out that most of the surface of the globe is occupied not by land, but by the ocean, and the existence of a single World Ocean was proved.

Out of caution, Magellan on March 17 moved from Siargao to the uninhabited island of Homonkhon, which lies south of the large island. Samar to stock up on water and give people a rest. The inhabitants of the neighboring island delivered fruits to the Spaniards, coconuts and palm wine. They reported that "there are many islands in this region." Magellan named the archipelago San Lazaro. At the local elder, the Spaniards saw gold earrings and bracelets, cotton fabrics embroidered with silk, edged weapons decorated with gold. A week later, the flotilla moved southwest and stopped at about. Limasava (10°N, 125°E, south of Leyte Island). A boat approached the Trinidad. And when the Malay Enrique, a slave of Magellan, called out to the rowers in his native language, they immediately understood him. A couple of hours later, two large boats full of people arrived with the local ruler, and Enrique freely explained to them. It became clear to Magellan that he was in that part of the Old World where the Malay language is spoken, that is, not far from the "Spice Islands" or among them. And Magellan, who visited about. Ambon (128° E) as part of the expedition of A. Abreu, thus completed the first ever circumnavigation of the world.

The ruler of the island gave Magellan pilots who accompanied the ships to the major commercial port of Cebu. In the journal Albo and Pigafetta, new names for the island appear for Europeans - Leyte, Bohol, Cebu, etc. Western European historians call this the discovery of the Philippines, although they have long been visited by Asian sailors, and Magellan and his companions saw Chinese goods there, such as porcelain dishes. In Cebu, they met the orders of the real "civilized" world. The Raja (ruler) began by demanding that they pay a fee. Magellan refused to pay, but offered him friendship and military assistance if he recognized himself as a vassal of the Spanish king. The ruler of Cebu accepted the offer and a week later he was even baptized along with his family and several hundred subjects. Soon, according to Pigafetta, "all the inhabitants of this island and some from other islands" were baptized. On about. Cebu, he talked with several Arab merchants who informed him of information about other islands of the archipelago. As a result, for the first time, such names as Luzon, Mindanao and Sulu entered into geographical use with minor distortions.

In the role of the patron of new Christians, Magellan intervened in the internecine war of the rulers of the island of Mactan, located opposite the city of Cebu. On the night of April 27, 1521, he went there with 60 people in boats, but because of the reefs they could not come close to the shore. Magellan, leaving crossbowmen and musketeers in boats, with 50 people wade across to the island. There, near the village, they were expected and attacked by three detachments. They started shooting at him from the boats, but arrows and even musket bullets at such a distance could not penetrate the wooden shields of the attackers. Magellan ordered the village to be set on fire. This infuriated the Maktans, and they began to shower arrows and stones at the strangers and throw spears at them. “...Ours, with the exception of six or eight people who remained with the captain, immediately fled ... Recognizing the captain, many people attacked him ... but still he continued to hold on steadfastly. Trying to draw his sword, he only drew it halfway, as he was wounded in the arm ... One [of the attackers] wounded him in the left leg ... The captain fell face down, and then they threw him ... with spears and began to strike with cleavers, until they destroyed ... our light, our joy ... He kept turning back to see if we all had time to dive into the boats ”(Pigafetta). In addition to Magellan, eight Spaniards and four allied islanders were killed. Among the sailors there were many wounded. Confirmed the old saying: "The Lord God gave the Portuguese a very small country for life, but the whole world for death."

After the death of Magellan, D. Barbosa and X. Serrano were elected captains of the flotilla. The newly baptized ruler of Cebu, having learned that the ships were about to leave, invited his allies to a farewell feast. 24 sailors, including Barbosa and Serrano, accepted the invitation and went ashore, but two - G. Espinosa and the pilot of the "Concepción" Portuguese Juan Lopes Carvalho - returned, suspecting evil. Hearing screams and screams on the shore, they ordered the ships to come closer to the shore and bombard the city with guns. At this time, the Spaniards saw Serrano wounded, in one shirt; he shouted to stop firing, otherwise he would be killed and all his comrades were killed, except for the Malay interpreter Enrique, begged to ransom him, but Corvalho forbade the boat to approach the shore.

“... And he did so with the goal,” Pigafetta writes, “so that they alone remain masters on the ships. And despite the fact that Juan Serrano weeping begged him not to raise the sails so quickly, as they would kill him ... we immediately departed. Immediately, Carvalho was declared the head of the expedition, and Espinosa was elected captain of the Victory. There were 115 people left on the ships, many of them sick. It was difficult to manage three ships with such a crew, therefore, in the strait between the islands of Cebu and Bohol, the dilapidated Concepcion was burned.

"Victoria" and "Trinidad", leaving the strait, passed by the island, "where the people are black, as in Ethiopia" (the first indication of the Filipino negritos); The Spaniards called this island Negros. In Mindanao, they first heard of the large island located to the northwest. Luzon. Random pilots led the ships across the Sulu Sea to Palawan, the westernmost island of the Philippine group.

Pigafetta, an accurate and thorough chronicler, was not a professional cartographer. But as an impartial artist, he made rough sketches of a number of islands in the Philippine archipelago, which were touched by the expedition of Magellan. They bear no resemblance to the originals and can only be identified by their names: Samar, the first of the visited islands, Homonkhon, where the first landing was made, Mactan, the place where Magellan died, and also Panaon,

Leyte, Cebu and Palawan. From about. Palawan, the Spaniards arrived - the first of the Europeans - to the giant about. Kalimantan and on July 9 anchored off the city of Brunei, after which they, and then other Europeans, began to call the whole island Borneo. The Spaniards made alliances with local rajahs, bought food and local goods, sometimes robbed oncoming ships, but still could not find the way to the Spice Islands.

Pigafetta productively used the Victoria's monthly parking lot - he spent almost the entire July as a guest of the Sultan of Brunei and collected the first reliable information about Fr. Kalimantan: "This island is so large that it will take three months to sail around it in a prau" (Malay ship).

On September 7, the Spaniards set sail along the northwestern coast of Kalimantan and, having reached its northern tip, stood for almost a month and a half near a small island, stocking up on food and firewood. They managed to capture a junk with a Malay sailor who knew the way to the Moluccas. Carvalho was soon removed "for failure to comply with royal decrees" and Espinosa was elected admiral. The former assistant navigator on the Concepción, Basque Juan Sevastian Elcano, or del Cano, became the captain of the Victoria. On October 26, in the Sulawesi Sea, the ships weathered the first storm after leaving the Strait of Magellan. On November 8, a Malay sailor led ships to the spice market on about. Tidore, off the western coast of Halmahera, the largest of the Moluccas, Here the Spaniards bought cheap spices - cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves. The Trinidad needed repairs, and it was decided that upon completion, Espinosa would go east to the Gulf of Panama, and Elcano would lead the Victoria home by a western route around the Cape of Good Hope.

December 21 "Victoria" with a crew of 60 people, including 13 Malays captured on the islands of Indonesia, moved from Tidore to the south. At the end of January 1522, the Malay pilot brought the ship to about. Timor. On February 13, the Spaniards lost sight of him and headed for the Cape of Good Hope, spending three times more time wandering among the Malay Islands than crossing the Pacific Ocean.

Elcano deliberately stayed away from the usual path Portuguese ships, a meeting with which the Spaniards threatened with prison and, perhaps, execution. In the southern part of the Indian Ocean, sailors saw only one island (at 37 ° 50 "S, Amsterdam). This happened on March 18. On May 20, the Victoria rounded the Cape of Good Hope.

Passing first in this part of the Indian Ocean, Elcano proved that the "Southern" continent does not reach 40 ° S. sh. During the transition through the unknown sea In the Indian Ocean, the ship's crew was reduced to 35 people, including four Malays. On the Cape Verde Islands, belonging to Portugal, where a stop was made in order to replenish fresh water and food supplies, it turned out that the sailors "lost" one day, bypassing the land from the west. For this “loss”, all the surviving crew members of the Victoria were subjected to a humiliating punishment - public repentance: from the church point of view, such “negligence” led to improper observance of fasts. Here, at Santiago, 12 more Spaniards and one Malay fell behind, arrested on suspicion that they had come to the Moluccas by the eastern route. On September 6, 1522, the Victoria, having lost another sailor along the way, reached the mouth of the Guadalquivir, completing the first circumnavigation of the world in 1081 days.

Of the five ships of Magellan, only one rounded Earth, and out of its crew of 265 people, only 18 returned to their homeland (there were three Malays on board). 13 sailors arrested in Santiago arrived home later, released by the Portuguese at the request of Charles I. But the Victoria brought so many spices that their sale more than covered the costs of the expedition, and Spain received the “right of first discovery” to the Mariana and Philippine Islands and made claims to the Moluccas.

Magellan, with his circumnavigation, proved that the greatest expanse of water stretches between America and Asia, and established the existence of a single ocean. Magellan put an end to the debate about the shape of our planet forever by providing practical evidence of its sphericity. Thanks to him, finally, scientists were able to establish the true size of the Earth not speculatively, but on the basis of irrefutable data.

The fate of the Trinidad team was as follows. The repair of the Trinidad dragged on for more than three months, and she sailed from Tidore under the command of Espinosa (navigator Leone Pancaldo) with a crew of 53 people and an almost 50-ton cargo of spices only on April 6, 1522. Having rounded the northern end of about. Halmahera, Espinosa immediately sculpted a course to the east, to Panama. However, contrary winds soon forced him to turn north. sh. - 14 other islands from the Mariana group. From one of them, most likely from Fr. Agrihan (near 19°N), a native was taken on board. Fighting with east winds, stormy weather and cold, on June 11 Espinosa reached 43 ° N. sh. How far to the east the ship advanced can now only be assumed - probably the Spaniards were between 150 and 160 ° E. e, a 12-day storm, poor food and weakness forced the sailors to turn back. By this time, more than half of the team had died from hunger and scurvy. On the way back on August 22, Espinosa discovered several more northern Mariana Islands, including Maug at 20°N. sh., and returned to the Moluccas around October 20, 1522. The sailor Gonzalo Vigo, who had deserted at Mauga, later crossed by boat to about. Guam with the help of indigenous people. Having familiarized himself in this way with almost all the significant islands between Maug and Guam, he completed the discovery of the Mariana chain, which stretched for more than 800 km.

Meanwhile, in mid-May 1522, the Portuguese military flotilla António Brito approached the Moluccas. Fulfilling the task - to take possession of the archipelago and prevent the violation of the Portuguese monopoly, he built a fort on about. Ternate. Having received news at the end of October that a European ship was near the Moluccas, Brito sent three ships with orders to capture it, and they brought the Trinidad, with 22 people, to Ternate. Brito seized the cargo and took away the nautical instruments, maps and, no doubt, the ship's log. This explains the awareness of the Portuguese about the route of Magellan's expedition, his death and later events, and Brito received additional information by interrogating the sailors he captured "with predilection". After a four-year prison term, only four of the Trinidad crew survived and returned to Spain in 1526, including Gonzalo Espinosa, having also completed their circumnavigation.

Bibliography

1. Biographical dictionary of figures of natural science and technology. T. 2. - Moscow: State. scientific publishing house "Big soviet encyclopedia", 1959. - 468 p.

Magdovich IP Essays on the history of geographical discoveries. T. II. Great geographical discoveries (the end of the 15th - the middle of the 17th century) / I. P. Magidovich, V. I. Magidovich. - Moscow: Education, 1983. - 400 p.

Magellan Fernand Magellan Fernand

Magalhães (Portuguese Magalhães, Spanish Magallanes) (1470-1531), navigator whose expedition made the first circumnavigation of the world. Born in Portugal. In 1519-1521 he led a Spanish expedition to find a western route to the Moluccas. He discovered the entire coast of South America, south of La Plata, circled the continent from the south, discovered the strait named after him, and the Patagonian Cordillera; first crossed the Pacific Ocean (1520), discovering Fr. Guam, and reached the Philippine Islands, where he was killed in a fight with the locals. Magellan proved the existence of a single world ocean and provided practical evidence of the sphericity of the Earth. The voyage was completed by J. S. Elcano, who circled Africa from the south.

MAGELLAN Fernand

MAGELLAN (Magallanes) (Portuguese Magalhaes, Spanish Magallanes) Fernand (spring 1480, Sabroza area, Vila Real province, Portugal - April 27, 1521, Mactan Island, Philippines), Portuguese navigator, whose expedition made the first circumnavigation of the world; the discoverer of part of the Atlantic coast of South America, the passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, which he crossed for the first time. Magellan proved the existence of a single world ocean and provided practical evidence of the sphericity of the Earth.
Carier start
The poor, but noble nobleman Magellan in 1492-1504 served as a page in the retinue of the Portuguese queen. Studied astronomy, navigation and cosmography. In 1505-1513 participated in naval battles with Arabs, Indians and Moors, he showed himself a brave warrior, for which he received the rank of sea captain. Due to a false accusation, he was denied further promotion - in 1517, having resigned, Magellan moved to Spain. Having entered the service of King Charles I, he proposed a project for a circumnavigation, which was accepted after a long bargain.
Opening of the strait between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans
September 20, 1519 five small ships - "Trinidad", "San Antonio", "Santiago", "Concepsion" and "Victoria" with a crew of 265 people went to sea. When crossing the Atlantic, Magellan used his signaling system, and the different types of ships of his flotilla never parted. At the end of December, he reached La Plata, explored the bay for about a month, but did not find a passage to the South Sea. February 2, 1520 Magellan went south along the Atlantic coast of South America, moving only during the day, so as not to miss the entrance to the strait. He began wintering on March 31 in a convenient bay at 49 ° south latitude. On the same night, a mutiny began on three ships, which was soon brutally suppressed by Magellan. Sent in the spring for reconnaissance, the Santiago ship crashed against the rocks, but the team was saved. October 21 entered a narrow winding strait, later named after Magellan. On south coast the navigators saw the fires of the strait. Magellan called this land Tierra del Fuego. A month later, with a small strait (550 km), three ships passed, the 4th ship "San Antonio" deserted and returned to Spain, where the captain slandered Magellan, accusing him of treason to the king.
First crossing of the Pacific Ocean
On November 28, Magellan with the remaining three ships entered the unknown ocean, rounding America from the south along the strait they had discovered. The weather, fortunately, remained good - and Magellan called the Pacific Ocean. For almost 4 months, a very difficult voyage continued, when people ate rusk dust mixed with worms, drank rotten water, ate cowhide, sawdust and ship rats. Starvation and scurvy set in, and many died. Magellan, although he was not tall, was distinguished by great physical strength and self-confidence. Crossing the ocean, he traveled at least 17 thousand km, but met only two islands - one in the Tuamotu archipelago (cm. TUAMOTU), another in the Line group (cm. LINE). He also discovered two inhabited islands - Guam (cm. GUAM) and Rota from the Mariana group (cm. MARIANA ISLANDS). On March 15, the expedition approached the large Philippine archipelago. With the help of weapons, the decisive and courageous Magellan forced the ruler of the island of Cebu to submit to the Spanish king.
The death of Magellan and the completion of the round-the-world expedition
In the role of the patron of the natives baptized by him, Magellan intervened in the internecine war and was killed in a skirmish near the island of Mactan. The ruler of Cebu invited part of the crew to a farewell feast, treacherously attacked the guests and killed 24 people. Only 115 people remained on three ships - there were not enough people, and the Concepsion ship had to be burned. For 4 months the ships wandered in search of spice islands. The Spaniards bought a lot of cloves, nutmeg, etc. cheaply from the island of Tidore and split up: the Victoria with captain Juan Elcano moved west around Africa, while the Trinidad, which needed repairs, remained. Captain Elcano, fearing a meeting with the Portuguese, kept far south of the usual routes. He was the first to pass in the central part of the Indian Ocean and, having discovered only the island of Amsterdam (near 38 ° south latitude), he proved that the “southern” mainland does not reach this latitude. September 6, 1522 "Victoria" with 18 people on board completed the "Circumnavigation", which lasted 1081 days. Later, 12 more crew members of the Victoria returned, and in 1526, five from the Trinidad. The sale of brought spices more than covered all the costs of the expedition.
Magellan as an explorer and a person
Thus ended the first circumnavigation of the world, which proved the sphericity of the earth. For the first time, Europeans crossed the largest of the oceans - the Pacific, opening a passage from the Atlantic. The expedition found that a much larger part of the earth's surface is not land, as Columbus thought. (cm. Columbus Christopher) and his contemporaries, and the oceans. The warlike and vain Magellan received many wounds, one of them made him lame. His son died in 1521. The wife, who gave birth to her second child dead, died in March 1522. The strait and two star clusters (Large and Small Magellanic Clouds) were named after Magellan, which were described by the historiographer and expedition member Antonio Pifachetta. The fate of Magellan, his daring feat is dedicated to the novel by S. Zweig (cm. ZWEIG Stefan)"Magellan" (1938).

encyclopedic Dictionary . 2009 .

See what "Magellan Fernan" is in other dictionaries:

- (about 1480 1521) navigator. His expedition made the first circumnavigation of the world. Born in Portugal. The Portuguese king rejected Magellan's project to search for a strait in the south of mainland South America from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific. ... ... Historical dictionary

"Magellan" redirects here; see also other meanings. Ferdinand Magellan port. Fernão de Magalhães Spanish Fernando (Hernando) de Magallanes ... Wikipedia

MAGELLAN (Magalhaes) (Portuguese Magalhaes Spanish Magallanes) Fernand (spring 1480, Sabroza area, Vila Real province, Portugal April 27, 1521, Mactan Island, Philippines), Portuguese navigator who proved the sphericity of the Earth and the unity ... ...

MAGELLAN (Magallanes) (Spanish Magallanes) Fernand (1480 1521) navigator, whose expedition made the 1st circumnavigation. Born in Portugal. In 1519 21 led a Spanish expedition to find a western route to the Moluccas about you. Opened… Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

Magellan, Magalhaes (Portuguese Magalhaes, Spanish Magallanes) Fernand (about 1480, the region of Traz already Montis, Portugal, ‒ 27.4.1521, Mactan Island, Philippines), navigator. In 1505‒12 he participated in Portuguese expeditions, twice reached Malacca ... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

"Magellan" redirects here. See also other meanings. Ferdinand Magellan port. Fernão de Magalhães Spanish Fernando (Hernando) de Magallanes ... Wikipedia

Magellan, Fernand- MAGELLA/N Fernand (c. 1480 1521) Spanish navigator, who practically proved the sphericity of the Earth and the existence of a single World Ocean. Portuguese by origin. He served in the Portuguese Navy as an officer, participated in the Portuguese expeditions ... ... Marine Biographical Dictionary

- (Magallanes, Ferno de) PORTRAIT OF FERNAND MAGELLAN (c. 1480 1521), leader of the first circumnavigation of the sea expedition. Born in Ponti da Barca in Portugal. Coming from a poor provincial noble family, he served as a page at the royal court ... Collier Encyclopedia

Magellan Fernand- () navigator. His expedition made the first circumnavigation of the world. Born in Portugal. The Portuguese king rejected Magellan's project to search for a strait in the south of the mainland of South America from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific. Moving to Spain... Encyclopedic Dictionary "World History"

The biography of Ferdinand Magellan begins with the fact that the future navigator was born in 1480, in the Portuguese city of Sabrosa, in a not very noble family.

At the age of twelve, he and his brother Diogo went to Lisbon to serve as pages at the court of Queen Leonora. There he learned of the intense competition that existed between Spain and Portugal to explore new sea routes and to dominate the spice trade from the East Indies, particularly the Moluccas (also called the Spice Islands).

In these young years, young Fernando was born with a craving for maritime affairs. Magellan's first voyage took place in 1505, when he and his brother got on a ship bound for India. Since then, for seven years, he participated in expeditions to India and Africa and was wounded in several battles.

In 1513, King Manuel sent a flotilla of five hundred ships to Morocco to challenge the Moroccan ruler who refused to pay an annual tribute to the Portuguese treasury. Portuguese troops easily broke the resistance of the enemy. In one of the battles, Magellan was seriously wounded in the leg and left lame.

In those days, spices meant as much as oil does today. People were willing to pay huge sums of money for black pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg and garlic to help preserve food in a time when there were no refrigeration. In addition, spices beat off the smell of spoiled meat.

It was impossible to grow them in cold, arid Europe, so it was vital for Europeans to find the shortest route to the Moluccas. The eastern route has been known for a long time. Magellan had to lay a sea route from the west.

Magellan, a traveler who by that time had gained extensive experience in numerous campaigns, decided to turn to King Manuel in order to enlist support for a planned campaign to the Moluccas along a new route. Several times the king rejected his petitions. In 1517, a disappointed Magellan renounced his Portuguese citizenship and moved to Spain to try his luck there. This act was already a small feat: Fernando had no connections in the country and practically did not speak Spanish.

There he met his countryman and soon married his daughter. The Barbosa family, who had good connections at court, managed to get him permission to meet with the Spanish monarch. King Charles, who was only 18 at the time, was the great-grandson of the king who financed the Columbus expedition. He did not break with tradition, and Magellan's expedition received approval and much-needed funds.

Thus, trip around the world Magellan set himself the task of circumnavigating the globe from the west. Fernand thought that perhaps this path would be shorter. On August 10, 1519, five ships left the Spanish port. Magellan was on Trinidad, followed by San Antonio, Concepción, Santiago and Victoria.

In September the ships crossed Atlantic Ocean, then known simply as the Ocean, and reached the shores of South America. They moved along the coast in the hope of finding a strait that would allow them to sail further west. One of the discoveries of Ferdinand Magellan after a year of wandering was the strait, which was later named after him.

Leaving the strait behind, the travelers became the first Europeans to see a new ocean in front of them, which the fearless captain called "Pacifico", which means "quiet". Now the path of Magellan lay through completely unexplored waters. Then they were waiting for the Philippines, where he tried to conduct the activities of a preacher and made friends with the local population. At that moment, he was practically at the target - the Moluccas were very close.

However, he allowed himself to be drawn into the battle of the local population with a tribe from a neighboring island. Assuming that European weapons will help to win an easy victory, the great traveler walked ahead of his army ... An arrow poisoned with poison put an end to the round-the-world trip and the biography of Ferdinand Magellan.

He died on April 27, 1521. The two remaining ships reached the Moluccas six months later. As a result, in 1522, only the Victoria arrived in Spain, loaded to the brim with spices, but only with a couple of dozen people on board.

In search of fame and fortune, the daring escapade of a traveler around the world brought Europeans not only spices. Ferdinand Magellan discovered a new ocean, geographical knowledge of that time made a huge leap forward, and it was recognized that the earth is much larger than previously thought. The route taken by Magellan's circumnavigation of the world was deemed too long and dangerous to reach the Moluccas and was never used again for trade purposes.

Why is it said that Magellan is the first person to circumnavigate the world if he never returned to Spain? He is the first person to visit the Philippines from two sides: first arriving there through the Indian Ocean and subsequently through the Pacific and Atlantic.

The first person to travel around the world “from point A to point A” was his slave Enrique: he was born on one of the islands and was brought by Magellan to Spain, and a few years later went with him on the famous journey, which eventually led him to his native island.

Fernand (Fernando) Magellan - Spanish and Portuguese navigator, discoverer, holder of the Order of Santiago.

Biography

Childhood

Father - Rodrigo (Rui) de Magalhaes, belonged to an impoverished noble family, was the head of the fortress of Aveiro. Mother - Alda de Mosquita (or Mishkita). The Magellan family had five children.

life path

It is known that, in his youth, Magellan served as a page under Queen Leonor of Avisa. The future traveler made his first sea expedition as a freelance warrior in 1505, as part of the squadron of Francisco Almeida, Viceroy, who was heading to conquer India.

INDIA

During the Indian expedition, Magellan takes part in hostilities against India, receives two wounds. It was his ship in the battle of Diu that breaks through the enemy line and boards the enemy flagship. Wanting to establish trade relations, Portugal wants to take positions in the port of Malacca, where a conflict breaks out between the Portuguese and the Indians. Most of the team was killed, the rest (including Magellan) went home, but they crashed near the Laccadive Islands. They managed to save the people who escaped on the island, but Magellan never gets to Portugal: he remains in India and starts his trading business.

At this time, the Portuguese authorities are trying to recapture Goa, and Viceroy Albuquerque invites Magellan to participate in the military council. By that time, the king himself reckoned with his opinion. There is no exact data, but it is assumed that by 1510 Magellan is already a captain. Goa was recaptured, and in 1511 Magellan took part in a military campaign against Malacca, which as a result came under the rule of Portugal.

PORTUGAL

Returning to Lisbon in 1512, Magellan receives a small pension from the king. It is known that Fernand takes part in the battles in Morocco in 1514. Being a brave and courageous officer, he receives a severe wound in the leg, which made him lame for life. In the same fighting, a horse is killed under him, but the brave warrior miraculously remains alive. By this time, Magellan's relations with the Portuguese king were deteriorating (the reasons for historians are unknown). He asks to be sent on a sea voyage, but is refused. Then he renounces the citizenship of Portugal and moves to Spain. The best sailors follow him.

SPAIN

Having settled in Seville, Magellan marries there and begins to seriously prepare for a sea voyage. The first project of the expedition was rejected by the Spanish department, which was called the "Chamber of Contracts". But one of the leaders of the department, Juan de Aranda, is interested in Magellan's proposal and promises him his support (not disinterestedly, of course: Magellan promises him a percentage of the profits from the trip). Only after that the project was approved by the department, and serious preparations begin, led by Magellan himself.

TRIP AROUND THE WORLD

Five ships and food for two years were prepared for the expedition. Fernand took command of the Trinidad. The Spanish nobility, who was at the head of the command of the rest of the ships, was outraged that the expedition was led by the Portuguese. Magellan learned that a conspiracy had been drawn up against him and they wanted to remove him from his post. The conflicts that began on the coast manifested themselves in the very first days of the expedition, which began in September 1519.

The journey begins at the mouth of the Guadalquivir River, in the port of Sanlucar de Barrameda, from where Magellan's flotilla left. He had to forcibly pacify the raging Spanish captains and put them in their place, showing that it was he who was in charge of this expedition. Already in November, the squadron was off the coast of Brazil, and by the end of December reached La Plata, where Magellan was looking for the strait. It was here that he saw penguins for the first time. Having never found the strait, in March 1520 the flotilla was forced to stop for the winter.

In May, the flotilla loses one of the ships, but in October the long-awaited strait was found. The squadron went out into the open ocean, for which it was completely unprepared. The passage through the ocean was full of trials and hardships, but successfully completed in March 1521. On the way, Magellan discovered many islands, stopping on the island of Cebu, whose ruler agreed to be a subject of the Portuguese king.

Personal life

Magellan left no descendants. He married a very beautiful and very young girl, Beatrice Barbosa, the daughter of a Portuguese immigrant, with whom Magellan became friends in Seville. The first son died, and a year later, trying to give birth to a second child, Beatrice died. Fernand, at the time of his wife's death, was also no longer alive.

Death

Trying to pacify one of the recalcitrant leaders of the island of Mactan, Lapu-Lapu, Magellan underestimated the number of natives who defeated the Spaniards, unprepared for battle. In this battle in April 1521, Magellan himself died, who was used to fighting side by side with his soldiers. The natives wanted to destroy the leader of the Spaniards, and inflicted many severe, mortal wounds on him. At the place of his death, a monument depicting two cubes and a ball was erected in memory of the trip around the world.

The main achievements of Magellan

• He discovered the strait, which was named after him.
• Magellan became the first European who was able to proceed to the Pacific Ocean from the Atlantic.
• He gave the name to the Pacific Ocean and Tierra del Fuego.
• I saw a penguin first.
• Magellan traveled around the world.

Important dates in Magellan's biography

• 1480 - birth
• 1505 - the first sea expedition to the shores of India
• 1510 trade in India
• 1511 - naval campaign against Malacca
• 1512 return to Lisbon
• 1514 - battles in Morocco
• 1516 - moving to Spain
• 1517 - marriage to Beatrice
• 1519 - the birth of a son, the beginning of a trip around the world
• 1521 - the death of his son and Magellan himself

• The Tierra del Fuego archipelago was mapped by Magellan, but its name has nothing to do with volcanoes: approaching the islands at night, the traveler saw a huge number of lights and did not dare to land on them, but he also put the name on the map. In fact, these were the fires of the fires that were burned by the local natives.
• Another unjustified name exists in geography, thanks to Magellan, is the Pacific Ocean, which is known for its storms. It's just that the Portuguese navigator was very lucky: he managed to cross the ocean and not encounter a single storm.
• And the circumnavigation itself was not planned by Magellan at all: he just wanted to find a way to the Moluccas. However, the Portuguese attack forced the ship to continue its journey to the west - and so it circled the globe.

Remember how Neil Armstrong famously said when he called his first step on the lunar surface a giant leap for humanity? But long before him, such feats were performed by the Middle Ages. For example, the discoveries of Magellan became a real revolution in people's ideas about their planet and made them doubt the inviolability of dogmas. catholic church. So who was the person who proved that the Earth is round, who discovered where the Strait of Magellan is located on the map? What were the consequences of his discoveries for the development of science? To find answers to these questions, it is worth getting acquainted with historical facts, most of which are known thanks to Antonio Pigafetta, an Italian navigator who participated in the first round-the-world voyage.

Ferdinand Magellan: biography

Unfortunately, today no one can say exactly where the first European who circumnavigated the South American continent was born. However, most researchers believe that this event took place on October 17, 1480 in Porto or Sabroz. At the same time, according to historical documents, as a teenager, Fernand served as a page for Queen Leonora of Avisa, so it is assumed that he was of noble origin.

When Magellan was 25 years old, he went to India as part of the squadron of Francisco Almeida. After serving the prescribed 5 years, Fernand tries to return to his homeland, but by chance he is forced to stay in India, where he seeks the favor of the colonial authorities and gains great prestige among the military. Thus, the future great traveler ends up in Lisbon only in 1512. And he participates in the war with Morocco, during which, with his unauthorized actions, he provokes the wrath of King Manuel the First. During the audience, Magellan asks the monarch for permission to go on a sea expedition, but is refused. At the same time, Manuel the First makes him understand that he will not mind if he begins to serve another overlord. Interestingly, if you knew then that the future discoveries of Magellan would glorify Spain, would he have given him similar advice?

What preceded the first round-the-world trip

Insulted, Magellan leaves his homeland and goes to Spain, buys a house in Seville, marries, and has a son. Having acquired useful connections, Magellan turns to the organization involved in financing sea ​​expeditions- "The Chamber of Contracts", but they refuse to allocate money for the implementation of his project to find a western route to the Spice Islands. At the same time, Juan de Aranda is showing personal interest, demanding 1/8 of the possible profits, and the King of Spain, Charles the First, gives permission to outfit five ships. Now you know who Magellan was before his famous journey. What he discovered will be told later.

Magellan: Expected Economic Benefits

Although Columbus made Spain a superpower, nevertheless the main objective this expedition, namely reaching the shores of India by the western route, was not achieved. But it promised huge economic benefits! In particular, in this way it would be proved that the famous Spice Islands, which went to Portugal under the Treaty of Tordesillas, are located in the "Spanish" South Sea. In turn, this meant that the expected discoveries of Magellan could significantly expand the possessions of Charles the First and end the Portuguese monopoly on the trade in spices, which were then worth their weight in gold.

Travel to Brazil and Patagonia

The heroic maritime epic of Magellan began on September 20, 1519, when 5 ships, supplied with food for 2 years in advance, left San Lucar. In total, up to 280 people took part in the expedition, 100 of whom were equipped as soldiers. In addition, the ships were equipped with 10 cannons and 50 arquebuses. The main ship - "Trinidad" - and the caravel "Santiago" were controlled by Magellan himself and another Portuguese, João Serran. The remaining three ships went on a campaign led by high-born Spanish hidalgos, who agreed to arrange a mutiny if it seemed to them that Commander Fernand had gone astray.

Having crossed the Atlantic Ocean with great difficulty, on November 29 Magellan's expedition reached the coast of Brazil and began to explore the shores of La Plata, hoping that this was the strait through which one could get to the "South Sea". Convinced of the erroneousness of this assumption, the squadron proceeded further south, along the coast of the South American continent and, having met penguins along the way, mistook them for natives. The wandering continued until the end of March 1420, when Magellan decided to get up for the winter and cut the crew's rations. During the winter, the Spaniards met with the locals, who walked around with hay wrapped around their feet. And they called them Patagonians (big-footed), and their country Patagonia.

Strait of Magellan

On October 21, 1520, the ships of the expedition find themselves at a narrow strait. The ships "San Antonio" and "Concepcion" are sent for reconnaissance, which miraculously manage to avoid death during a sudden storm. However, as they say, there would be no happiness, but misfortune helped. At the moment when the wave carried the ship to the shore, they fell into a narrow passage, the study of which showed that salty water, and the lot does not reach the shore. Both ships return to Magellan and report the good news that the sea route to the "South Sea" has been found, and many years later it is designated as the Strait of Magellan on the world map. Unfortunately, this discovery, neither at that historical moment, nor centuries later, could bring mankind any benefit from an economic point of view, since this route is extremely long and dangerous for navigation. However, he gave a huge impetus to the development of such sciences as cartography and geography.

Islands of Tierra del Fuego discovered by Magellan

To the south of the discovered strait, the members of the expedition saw land on which lights lit up at night. Magellan mistakenly assumed that this is the northern tip of Terra Australis Incognita - southern mainland and named it Tierra del Fuego. As it turned out later, it was an archipelago consisting of 40 thousand islands and islets. Thus, to the questions: "What did Ferdinand Magellan do?", "What did he discover?" can be rightfully named as an answer and Tierra del Fuego. Today everyone knows that the Strait of Magellan separates the archipelago from the mainland, and on the largest of its islands, Isla Grande, there is the southernmost city of the planet, Ushuaia.

Discovery of the Marianas

Having crossed the strait in 38 days, the ships of the expedition entered the ocean and sailed about 17,000 km to the first uninhabited island that they met on their way. The sailors were surprised, since before that it was assumed that America was not far from the coast of Asia. Then Magellan realized that he had revealed to the world the true relationship between the land and the waters of the oceans, and also gave people an idea of ​​the size of the Earth. It was not possible to land on the ground, and they continued their journey until they reached the island of Guam, which belongs to the Mariana Islands group. It turned out that the locals had no idea about private property, and therefore tried to carry away from the ships any items that came to hand. That is why the Spaniards called the islands Landrones, which translates as thieves. There the travelers stocked up on food and fresh water and continued on their way.

Discovery of the Philippine Islands

Since it was obvious that the expedition was already in the Eastern Hemisphere, Magellan, fearing meetings with the Portuguese, sought to stay away from the waters where the shipping lanes passed. Soon his ships reached the unknown islands. It was decided to call them the archipelago of St. Lazar, and later they were renamed the Philippine Islands. Homonkh was chosen for the landing, so when answering the question: "What is the name of the first island discovered by Magellan in Asia?", You should point to it.

Traveler's death

Today, everyone knows what lands Magellan discovered. However, few know the details of his death.

So, how did the man who was the first of the people who managed to circumnavigate the South American continent meet death? It all started with the fact that the leader of Mactan Island refused to obey the ruler of neighboring Humabon, who swore allegiance to the Spanish crown and even was baptized, along with his family and close nobles. Magellan decided to show local residents that Europeans value and protect their vassals, and went to pacify the recalcitrant Maktans. At the same time, he did not calculate that the natives, who had time to learn the methods of warfare by the Europeans, no longer treated them as celestials. In addition, Magellan's military expedition was poorly prepared, and the Spaniards did not calculate that their ships would not be able to get close enough to the coast. Almost immediately after the start of the battle, Magellan's army was inflicted big damage, since the native warriors aimed their spears at the unprotected legs of the Spanish soldiers, and when they tried to get to their ships, they began to finish them off with arrows. The same fate befell Commander Fernand, who, wanting to cover his retreating comrades-in-arms, remained to fight in the water with a handful of loyal warriors, but was wounded first in the face and then pierced with spearheads. Thus died one of the greatest travelers in the history of mankind. However, he forever entered his name in the annals of world history, and today every schoolchild knows which strait Magellan discovered.

The further fate of the sailors of the expedition

The death of Magellan and eight of his associates undermined the prestige of the Spaniards in the eyes of the natives. Therefore, Humabonu decides to get rid of the aliens and arranges a dinner party, during which he cracks down on a significant part of the commanders. The rest have to flee. Finally, reaching the Spice Islands, the surviving members of Magellan's expedition buy goods and are going back when they learn that the Portuguese king has declared Magellan a deserter and issued an order to detain his ships. At that moment, only two ships remain afloat, the commanders of which decide to go home in different ways. So the ship "Trinidad" is captured by the Portuguese, and members of its crew end up in penal servitude in India. The fate of those who go to Spain on the "Victoria", under the command of Juan Elcanto, through the Cape of Good Hope is quite different. At the cost of incredible efforts, they managed to get to Seville. Thus, before answering the questions: "Who is Magellan?", "What did he discover?", It is worth considering. After all, the fact that he is called the first traveler who circumnavigated the world is not entirely true. Moreover, he never set himself such a goal, since his only desire was to find a western route along which spices could be brought to Spain and profit from it.

Ferdinand Magellan: what he discovered

Such short life, only 40 years long, but what brilliant results! It is these thoughts that arise when you read the story of the journey that Magellan made. What did you discover? The famous strait, named after him, Tierra del Fuego, Mariana and Philippine Islands. And most importantly, Magellan proved that one can get from Europe to Asia not only by going around Africa, but also moving in a westerly direction.