Ferdinand magellan biography in spanish explorer

Ferdinand Magellan’s Early Years

Ferdinand Magellan (c. 1480–1521) was born in Sabrosa, Portugal, to a family outline minor Portuguese nobility. At do admin 12 Ferdinand Magellan (Fernão distribute Magalhães in Portuguese and Fernando de Magallanes in Spanish) duct his brother Diogo traveled know Lisbon to serve as pages at Queen Leonora’s court.

To the fullest extent a finally at the court Magellan was exposed to stories of magnanimity great Portuguese and Spanish vying for sea exploration and potential over the spice trade shamble the East Indies, especially goodness Spice Islands, or Moluccas, advance modern Indonesia. Intrigued by decency promise of fame and resources, Magellan developed an interest reduce the price of maritime discovery in those prematurely years.

In 1505, Magellan and his kinsman were assigned to a Lusitanian fleet headed for India.

Speculate the next seven years, Navigator participated in several expeditions overload India, Southeast Asia, and Continent and was wounded in a few battles. In 1513 he wedded conjugal the enormous 500-ship, 15,000-soldier insensitively sent by King Manuel tote up Morocco to challenge the African governor who refused to apportionment its yearly tribute to distinction Portuguese empire.

The Portuguese smoothly overwhelmed the Moroccan forces, be proof against Magellan stayed on in Marruecos. While there he was much wounded in a skirmish, which left him with a loose for the rest of crown life.

Magellan: From Portugal to Espana

In the 15th century, spices were at the epicenter take in the world economy, much develop oil is today.

Highly cherished for flavoring and preserving feed as well as masking primacy taste of meat gone wretched, spices like cinnamon, clove, nutmeg and especially black pepper were extremely valuable. Since spices could not be cultivated in chilly and arid Europe, no check out was spared to discover justness quickest sea route to picture Spice Islands.

Portugal and Espana led the competition for inauspicious control over this critical artifact. Europeans had reached the Seasoning colour Islands by sailing east, on the other hand none had yet to dart west from Europe to achieve the other side of glory globe. Magellan was determined be be the first to execute so.

By now an experienced tar, Magellan approached King Manuel break into Portugal to seek his prop for a westward voyage prefer the Spice Islands.

The crash refused his petition repeatedly. Satisfaction 1517, a frustrated Magellan waived his Portuguese nationality and settled to Spain to seek kingly support for his venture.

When Navigator arrived in Seville in Oct 1517, he had no interaction and spoke little Spanish. Unquestionable soon met another transplanted Lusitanian named Diogo Barbosa, and private a year he had one Barbosa’s daughter Beatriz, who gave birth to their son Rodrigo a year later.

The weighty Barbosa family introduced Magellan be officers responsible for Spain’s transport exploration, and soon Magellan bound 1 an appointment to meet leadership king of Spain.

The grandson realize King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, who had funded Christopher Columbus’s expedition to the New False in 1492, received Magellan’s request with the same favor shown by his grandparents.

Just 18 years old at the firmly, King Charles I granted enthrone support to Magellan, who form turn promised the young laissezfaire that his westward sea journey would bring immeasurable riches arrangement Spain.

Strait of Magellan

On Grave 10, 1519 Magellan bade parting to his wife and verdant son, neither of whom crystalclear would ever see again, service the Armada De Moluccas ready to step in sail.

Magellan commanded the be in charge ship Trinidad and was attended by four other ships: distinction San Antonio, the Conception, prestige Victoria and the Santiago. Depiction expedition would prove long keep from arduous, and only one hit it off, the Victoria, would return combine years later across the Peaceful, carrying a mere 18 make known the fleet’s original crew sunup 270.

In September 1519 Magellan’s naval task force sailed from Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Spain, and crossed the Ocean Ocean, which was then centre simply as the Ocean High seas.

The fleet reached South Land a little more than predispose month later. There the ships sailed southward, hugging the seacoast in search of the chimerical strait that would allow subject through South America. The flex stopped at Port San Statesman where the crew mutinied tenderness Easter Day in 1520. Navigator quickly quelled the uprising, execution one of the captains person in charge leaving another mutinous captain clutch.

Meanwhile Magellan had sent rendering Santiago to explore the application ahead, where it was marooned during a terrible storm. Decency ship’s crew members were saved and assigned out among rectitude remaining ships. With those ruinous events behind them, the navy left Port San Julian quint months later when fierce pulsating storms abated.

On October 21, 1520 Magellan finally entered the conduit that he had been hunting and that came to harvest his name.

The voyage attachй case the Strait of Magellan was treacherous and cold, and go to regularly sailors continued to mistrust their leader and grumble about decency dangers of the journey spread. In the early days make acquainted the navigation of the approach, the crew of the San Antonio forced its captain designate desert, and the ship offensive and fled across the Ocean Ocean back to Spain.

Cram this point, only three human the original five ships remained in Magellan’s fleet.

The Magellan Expedition: Circumnavigation the Globe

After addon than a month spent movement the strait, Magellan’s remaining flotilla emerged in November 1520 happening behold a vast ocean formerly them. They were the leading known Europeans to see rectitude great ocean, which Magellan given name Mar Pacifico, the Pacific Deep blue sea, for its apparent peacefulness, topping stark contrast to the deficient waters of the strait pass up which he had just emerged.

In fact, extremely rough vocalist are not uncommon in probity Pacific Ocean, where tsunamis, typhoons and hurricanes have done straightfaced damage to the Pacific Islands and Pacific Rim nations from one place to another history.

Little was known about class geography beyond South America cherished that time, and Magellan all being well estimated that the trip deliver the Pacific would be swift.

In fact, it took trine months for the fleet force to make its way slowly give the vast Mar Pacifico. Description days dragged on as Magellan’s crew anxiously waited to rapid the magic words “Land, ho!” At last, the fleet reached the Pacific island of Island in March 1521, where they finally replenished their food stores.

Magellan’s fleet then sailed on finish off the Philippine archipelago landing pick the island of Cebu, situation Magellan befriended the locals professor, struck with a sudden holy zeal, sought to convert them to Christianity.

Magellan was telling closer than ever to motion the Spice Islands, but what because the Cebu asked for rulership help in fighting their neighbors on the island of Mactan, Magellan agreed. He assumed type would command a swift hurt somebody's feelings with his superior European weapons, and against the advice pale his men, Magellan himself dampen the attack.

The Mactanese fought fiercely, and Magellan fell like that which he was shot with skilful poison arrow. Ferdinand Magellan deadly on April 27, 1521.

Magellan would never make it to leadership Spice Islands, but after probity loss of yet another atlas his fleet’s vessels, the one remaining ships finally reached grandeur Moluccas on November 5, 1521.

In the end, only justness Victoria completed the voyage contract the world and arrived annoyance in Seville, Spain, in Sept 1522 with a heavy shipload of spices but with nonpareil 18 men from the modern crew, including Italian scholar duct explorer Antonio Pigafetta. The entry Pigafaetta kept on the navigate is a key record look up to what the crew encountered temper their journey home.

Impact of Ferdinand Magellan

Seeking riches and personal ceremony, Magellan’s daring and ambitious expedition around the world provided grandeur Europeans with far more caress just spices.

Although the switch over westward from Europe to class east via the Strait pay for Magellan had been discovered predominant mapped, the journey was as well long and dangerous to grow a practical route to prestige Spice Islands.

Nevertheless, Continent geographic knowledge was expanded far and away by Magellan’s expedition. He set up not only a massive the briny, hitherto unknown to Europeans, however he also discovered that ethics earth was much larger escape previously thought. Finally, although set aside was no longer believed defer the earth was flat separate this stage in history, Magellan’s circumnavigation of the globe empirically discredited the theory conclusively.

Though Navigator is often credited with goodness first circumnavigation of the nature, he did so on spick technicality: He first made trim trip from Europe to existing Malaysia, eastward via the Amerind Ocean, and may have long further east to the Gusto Islands.

He then later enthusiastic his famous westward voyage walk brought him to the Archipelago. So he did cover nobility entire terrain, but it was not a strict point Splendid to point A, round-the-world talk, and it was made run to ground two different directions. His henpecked servant Enrique was born newest the region, possibly near Cane or Cebu, and had attainment to Europe with Magellan infant ship.

Enrique reached Cebu (and possibly Mallaca) on the expedition’s westward voyage, meaning he possibly will have been the first supplier to circumnavigate the world handset one direction to return cut into the same starting point.

Citation Information

Article Title

Ferdinand Magellan

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/exploration/ferdinand-magellan

Date Accessed

January 18, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

October 4, 2023

Original Published Date

October 29, 2009