Ferdinand
Magellan
(1480-1521) Discoverer & Explorer Ferdinand Magellan was born around 1480 in Oporto, Portugal. There is little known about Magellan's childhood, but when he was 12 years old, he was a page at the Portuguese court. While Magellan was a page, he met another page named Francisco Serrao. Serrao turned out to be a friend to Magellan for both of their entire lives. Serrao also grew up to be an explorer. Magellan and Serrao were promoted to squires together. Serrao became an explorer and went to the Moluccan Islands.
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Magellan
wanted to explore the Spice Islands in the East but he could not get support
from the Portuguese king. Magellan went to King Ferdinand, the king of
Spain who gave him ships, supplies and men. He became a citizen of Spain.
He started his travel circumnavigating the world in 1519 with 5 flagships:
the Trinidad, the Santiago, the San Antonio, the Concepcion and the Victoria.
While sailing, Magellan lost the Santiago at the East Coast of South America
and was left with only 4 ships. But here, he found a strait near the bottom
of South America which he called the Strait of Magellan. He also discovered
another ocean which he named Pacific because it was very calm.
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Magellan crossed the Pacific Ocean and he came upon an island called Cebu and found out that there were a lot of islands comprising the archipelago. He named the group of islands the Philippines and historians marked this event, April 7, 1521 as the discovery of the Philippines. He was killed by Lapu-Lapu, an indigenous chieftain in Mactan, on April 27, 1521. | |
When Magellan was killed, the Concepcion was abandoned. There were only two ships left: the Trinidad and the Victoria, and the Trinidad was forced to turn back and head to the Moluccas. The Victoria reached Spain on September 6, 1522. 230 men left Spain with Magellan and only 18 returned. Those 18 men were the first to circumnavigate the world. Ferdinand Magellan proved to the world and all those who rejected his ideas that one could circumnavigate the world. His discoveries and passages opened new doors to a larger world. He will always be remembered as the first man who sailed around the world. |
For more information on Ferdinand Magellan, open the following links: Ferdinand
Magellan's search for the Spice Islands Magellan's
Passage to the Spice Islands |
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