Around the World at the Cost of Hundreds of Lives: Magellan's Last Voyage. Ferdinand Magellan and the first ever circumnavigation of the world

(Total 5 photos)
Magellan, like Columbus, was driven by a desire to find a shortcut to Indian spices. And here again, there was no idea to go around the globe, he went for spices and the path in the direction of America seemed to him optimal.
Magellan's goal was the Moluccas. Europeans have been buying spices there for a long time, and there were a lot of them in local markets, and most importantly at insanely low prices.

But the problem was that the transportation took a huge amount of time, and the path was very dangerous. Fernand offered the King of Portugal a route through the Americas. The king did not accept this idea at all, because there were already established trade routes of the same Portuguese traders through the Indian and Atlantic oceans. Then Magellan moves to Spain and offers the same project to the king there.

The Spanish king was either more trusting or riskier and agreed to the project. And on September 20, 1519, a flotilla of five ships with 256 people on board, led by Ferdinand Magellan, leaves Sanlucar de Barrameda.
The first losses happened off the coast of America. After a long voyage along the coast of the continent, part of the team decides that there will be no sense in the expedition and decides to return.

Ferdinand Magellan

Three captains mutiny. Magellan severely suppresses him - one captain is killed by him, the second is executed, the sailors are reassured and inspired again. On the same section of the route, one of the ships runs into rocks and sinks.

Having reached the southern tip of the mainland, the ships pass through the strait, later named after the naval commander. Here the flotilla loses another ship, which simply turns the wrong way, and sets off on its way back to Spain. The ships go to the Pacific Ocean.

It follows a long 100-day journey across the endless water surface. Food is running out, the crews are eating leather gear and, as a delicacy, rats. In this part of the journey, almost half of the team perishes.

In the spring of 1521, Fernand approaches the Philippine Islands. Magellan tries to bring the local population under the rule of the Spanish crown, intervenes in tribal squabbles and dies.

Monument to Ferdinand Magellan

On Mactan Island in 1886, monuments were erected on the same square to the famous traveler who died on this spot, and to the leader Lapu-Lapu, who killed him.

Monument to the leader Lapu-Lapu

After the death of Magellan, the team hastily sails from the island and gets to the Moluccas for several more months. There the ships are being repaired, one really has to be burned as hopeless, they are loaded with coveted spices and they disperse. "Trinidad" turns back to the Pacific Ocean, wanting to get to Panama, in Spanish possessions. The second ship - "Victoria" - goes home through the old trade route through Africa.

"Trinidad" as a result is captured by the Portuguese, and his team ends up in penal servitude in India.
The first circumnavigation of the world ends on September 8, 1522 in Seville. 18 people returned to the Victoria, they went through storms, scurvy, the Portuguese ....

They immediately go to church upon arrival, and order a thanksgiving service at the end of a terrible journey. After returning, all the laurels go to the captain of the Victoria - Elcano.

He receives fame, awards, pensions, even a coat of arms with a globe and the motto "You were the first to go around me." By the way, formally, this is quite a fair statement. But then Magellan gets only curses. Later, of course, justice triumphs, Fernand takes his place in the pantheon of discoverers.

This expedition brought several discoveries at once. She proved that all the oceans of the Earth are connected, that the Earth is round, that there is much more water on the planet than land. And it became clear that there was no shortcut to India through America.

And for the first time, the paradox of the “lost day” was discovered. It lies in the fact that when moving to the west, the day gradually lengthens and after a while the whole day is lost. As a result, according to the meticulous Victoria magazine, the ship arrived on September 7th.

By the way, some researchers hypothesize that Magellan had very old and very accurate maps. Because the route used the ocean currents very well, the peculiarities of the winds, which, in theory, were not known to the sailors of that time ....

The Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan went down in history as the first person who managed to circumnavigate the world. He became the first European who managed to swim from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and thus prove the existence of a single and indivisible ocean.

short biography

The future navigator was born in 1480 in the small Portuguese town of Ponti da Barca. Being a descendant of a noble, but impoverished noble family, in his adolescence, Fernand served as a page at the royal court.

In 1505, Fernand entered the service of the navy, and over the next five years faithfully served his king in East Africa. His plans to return to his homeland could not be immediately realized due to the outbreak of military battles in India, in which Magellan took part. For his courage, he received the rank of officer, and after being seriously wounded, he was recalled to Portugal.

Rice. 1. Ferdinand Magellan.

Due to severe lameness caused by being wounded in India, Magellan was forced to resign. He dreamed of organizing an expedition to the homeland of spices - the Moluccas, but the Portuguese king refused him. Insulted by undeserved injustice and lack of recognition, Magellan moved to Spain.

Preparing for the expedition

In Seville, Magellan managed to win the favor of the young king Charles I and convince him to equip ships to the Moluccas, promising big profits. The king appointed an experienced navigator as the commander-in-chief of the flotilla, the main goal of which was to find a sea route to the cherished islands from the west.

The expedition, which became the life work of Magellan, included 265 people and 5 ships. It is worth noting that all ships were characterized by poor maneuverability, modest size and poor equipment. Magellan did not have geographical maps and reliable navigational instruments, with the exception of a compass and an hourglass.

TOP 4 articleswho read along with this

Ferdinand Magellan's first circumnavigation of the world

The expedition set sail on September 20, 1519, heading for the Canary Islands. Further, the route ran through Brazil to the south along the coast of South America. The navigator faced a difficult task - to find a passage to the South Sea. At the same time, the flotilla moved only during the day, so as not to miss this passage at night in the dark.

During the forced wintering, which dragged on for 4 months, a mutiny broke out on three ships. Magellan managed to put down the rebellion by ordering the assassination of the rebel captains. During the same period, the flotilla lost one ship, which crashed against the underwater rocks during reconnaissance.

Only in October 1520, Magellan managed to achieve his goal and find a barely noticeable entrance to the strait, which was later called Magellan. Having passed a dangerous narrow strait, the sailors found themselves in the waters of an unknown sea. It was the Pacific Ocean, which was so named by Magellan due to the surprisingly calm weather that prevailed during the entire journey.

Rice. 2. Pacific Ocean.

After a hundred days of sailing in the Pacific Ocean, the flotilla reached the island of Guam, and soon the Philippine archipelago was discovered by Magellan.

Having intimidated the local population, the navigator forced them to submit to the Spanish king and accept Christianity. In 1521, Ferdinand Magellan tragically died in one of the skirmishes with the natives. Only one ship was able to return to Spain, on board of which only 17 sailors survived. His captain received all the honors and glory, while the commander-in-chief of the flotilla was undeservedly forgotten.

However, the importance of Magellan's journey could not be overestimated. He not only found the western road to the Moluccas, but also made an important discovery that changed the worldview of millions of people and proved that the Earth is round.

Contrary to popular belief, Ferdinand Magellan personally did not circumnavigate the globe, although he tried very hard. And even more so, he did not set himself the goal of making a round-the-world trip. Fernand purposefully went for spices - gold of the 16th century, and everything else was not interesting to him. He wanted to get to them by the shortest route, and, in his opinion, the direction to America was just that.

At first, Fernand tried to interest the Portuguese. The main argument was the Moluccas, where there were a lot of cheap spices. Magellan was there twice and knew firsthand about the commercial benefits of this flight, and he offered to get to them from the side of the newly discovered America. But the Portuguese king chose not to go into adventure and continue to use the classic, albeit dangerous route through the Atlantic and Indian oceans. Fernand went to Spain in search of a more accommodating king.

The Spaniard turned out to be receptive to the arguments of the sea wolf and gave the green light to the equipment of the expedition. September 20, 1519 - the historical date of the start of the round-the-world regatta led by Fernand Magellan - a flotilla of five ships and 256 people left the port of Sanlúcar de Barrameda.

At Dawson Island, the strait divides into two channels, and Magellan again separates the flotilla. The San Antonio and the Concepción are heading southeast, the other two ships are left to rest, and a boat is heading southwest. Three days later the boat returns and the sailors report that they have seen the open sea. Soon the Conspecion returns, but there is no news from the San Antonio. November 28, 1520 Magellan's ships set sail. The journey through the strait took 38 days. For many years, Magellan will remain the only captain who passed the strait and did not lose a single ship.

Leaving the strait, Magellan walked north for 15 days, reaching 38 ° S, where he turned to the northwest, and on December 21, 1520, having reached 30 ° S, turned to the north-west. The flotilla passed through the Pacific Ocean for at least 17 thousand km. The expedition, not ready for such a transition, experienced enormous hardships.

During the voyage, the expedition reached 10 °C. and turned out to be noticeably north of the Moluccas, which she aspired to. Perhaps Magellan wanted to make sure that the South Sea discovered by Balboa was part of this ocean, or perhaps he was afraid of meeting with the Portuguese, which would have ended in failure for his battered expedition. On January 24, 1521, the sailors saw an uninhabited island (from the Tuamotu archipelago). There was no way to land on it. After 10 days, another island was discovered (in the Line archipelago). They also failed to land, but the expedition caught sharks for food.

On March 6, 1521, the flotilla saw the island of Guam from the Mariana Islands group. It was inhabited. Boats surrounded the flotilla, trading began. It soon became clear that the locals steal from the ships everything that comes to hand. When they stole the boat, the Europeans could not stand it. They landed on the island and burned the village of the islanders, killing 7 people in the process. After that, they took the boat and took fresh food. The islands were named Thieves (Landrones). As the flotilla left, the locals chased the ships in boats, throwing stones at them, but without much success.

A few days later, the Spaniards were the first of the Europeans to reach the Philippine Islands, which Magellan called the archipelago of St. Lazarus. Fearing new clashes, he is looking for an uninhabited island. On March 17, the Spaniards landed on Homonhom Island. The Pacific crossing is over. An infirmary was set up on the island of Homonhom, where all the sick were transferred. Fresh food quickly cured the sailors, and the flotilla set off on a further journey among the islands. On one of them, Magellan's slave Enrique, who was born in Sumatra, met people who spoke his language. The circle is closed. For the first time, a man circumnavigated the earth.

On April 7, 1521, the expedition entered the port of Cebu on the island of the same name. The places were civilized, and they even tried to take trade duties from the Europeans. The Spaniards refused to pay, and a Muslim merchant who happened to be in the city advised the Rajah not to fight the Europeans, and the demand was withdrawn.

A brisk trade began. For iron products, the islanders easily gave gold and products. Impressed by the strength of the Spaniards and their weapons, the ruler of the island, Raja Humabon, agrees to surrender himself under the protection of the Spanish king and is soon baptized under the name Carlos. Following him, his family is baptized, many representatives of the nobility and ordinary islanders. Patronizing the new Carlos Humabon, Magellan tried to bring as many local rulers under his authority.

One of the leaders of the island of Mactan Lapu-Lapu (Silapulapu) opposed the new order and was not going to surrender to the power of Humabon. Magellan organized a military expedition against him. He wanted to visually demonstrate the power of Spain to the locals. The battle turned out to be unprepared. Due to the shoal, ships and boats could not come close enough to effectively support the landing party with fire. During the stay of Europeans in Cebu, local residents had the opportunity to study European weapons and their weaknesses. They moved quickly, preventing the Europeans from aiming, and attacked the sailors in their unarmored legs. When the Spaniards began to retreat, Magellan was killed.

Nine Europeans died in the defeat, but the damage to reputation was enormous. In addition, the loss of an experienced leader immediately made itself felt. Juan Serran and Duarte Barbosa, who led the expedition, entered into negotiations with Lapu-Lapu offering him a ransom for Magellan's body, but he replied that the body would not be given out under any circumstances. The failure of the negotiations finally undermined the prestige of the Spaniards, and soon their ally Humabon lured them to dinner and massacred several dozen people, including almost the entire command staff. The ships had to leave quickly. Being almost at the target, the flotilla spent several months to reach the Moluccas.

Spices were purchased there, and the expedition was to set off on the return route. On the islands, the Spaniards learned that the Portuguese king had declared Magellan a deserter, so his ships were subject to capture. The courts were dilapidated. "Concepción" was previously abandoned by the crew and burned. Only two ships remained. "Trinidad" was repaired and went east to the Spanish possessions in Panama, and "Victoria" - west, bypassing Africa. "Trinidad" fell into a strip of headwinds, was forced to return to the Moluccas and was captured by the Portuguese. Most of his crew died in hard labor in India.

"Victoria" under the command of Juan Sebastian Elcano continued the route. The crew was replenished with a number of Malay islanders (almost all of them died on the road). The ship soon began to lack provisions (Pigafetta noted in his notes: “Except for rice and water, we didn’t have any food left; due to lack of salt, all meat products spoiled”), and part of the crew began to demand that the captain head for the Portuguese crown of Mozambique and surrender into the hands of the Portuguese. However, most of the sailors and Captain Elcano himself decided to try to sail to Spain at all costs. The Victoria hardly rounded the Cape of Good Hope and then went northwest along the African coast for two months without stopping.

On July 9, 1522, a worn-out ship with an exhausted crew approached the Cape Verde Islands, a Portuguese possession. It was impossible not to make a stop here due to the extreme lack of drinking water and provisions. But after the arrest of 13 people who went for food, "Victoria" hastily moved on.

On September 6, 1522, the Victoria reached Spain, thus becoming the only ship of Magellan's flotilla to return victoriously to Seville. There were eighteen survivors on the ship. Later, in 1525, four more of the 55 crew members of the Trinidad were taken to Spain. Also, those members of the Victoria team who were captured by the Portuguese during a forced stop on the Cape Verde Islands were also redeemed from Portuguese captivity.

The sale of the cargo brought by the Victoria not only covered all the expenses of the expedition, but, despite the loss of 4 ships out of 5, made a significant profit. As for the ownership of the Moluccas, the Portuguese king believed in their belonging to Spain and bought them back for a huge sum of 350 thousand gold ducats. In 1523, the report of the imperial secretary Maximilian Transylvanus on the journey was published, and then detailed memoirs of one of the expedition members, the Venetian Antonio Pigafetta, were also published.

At the beginning of the 16th century, not all people were sure that the earth was round. That is, many believed in it, but there was no direct evidence. There was no doubt after the first round-the-world voyage under the leadership of Ferdinand Magellan was crowned with success.

Magellan was Portuguese. By 1519, he had already managed to thoroughly serve the Portuguese crown: he traveled a lot and fought.

In those days, travelers often fought.

You come to new lands, and other people live there. These other people were sometimes hospitable and sometimes not. And they had reasons for that, the newcomers tried to seize their lands, enrich themselves at the expense of the natives.

So, Ferdinand Magellan returned to Portugal after many years of travel in India and the Indian Ocean. He is 32 years old, the king gave him a pension, but the pension is small. Magellan fought in Morocco for a couple more years and resigned. He asks the king to increase his pension, but is refused. Who knows, if the king had given him an increase then, Magellan would have lived in his Portugal and raised children, and we would never have known either his name or surname.

Meanwhile, Magellan had a plan for an expedition that was destined to glorify him. Magellan asks the Portuguese king to entrust him with naval service and send him on a voyage. The king refused. Magellan went to Spain and persuaded the Spanish king.

On September 20, 1519, a Spanish sea expedition began under the command of Ferdinand Magellan. It was not a super task to make a circumnavigation of the world, the plans were to open a western route to India. In total, the expedition consisted of five ships, on which about three hundred people went to sea. Among them was Magellan's slave named Enrique. Born in Sumatra, he was destined to be the first person to circumnavigate the world.

Around the world led by Magellan

So, the flotilla, led by Magellan, went west. They had to cross the Atlantic Ocean, go around South America, open the Strait of Magellan and enter the Pacific Ocean. Everything was successful, but Magellan was not easy. Three of the five ships were commanded by Spanish nobles.

They did not trust the Portuguese. This mistrust was not born out of nowhere, the Spaniards have long competed with the Portuguese in the development of new lands and profit from it. Magellan had to fight the rebels for his supremacy. He won, but the Spanish captains never became his friends.

People of that time did not have accurate ideas about the size of the Earth. Magellan assumed that the Pacific Ocean was much smaller than it actually turned out to be.

The sailors had to overcome at least 17 thousand kilometers before they reached land. But they were lucky with the weather, it was they who called this ocean "Pacific", not a single storm on the way. On March 17, 1521, travelers landed on Homonhom Island. The Pacific Ocean is left behind.

Members of the Magellan expedition became the first Europeans to land on the Philippine Islands. They continued their journey among the islands, on one of which Enrique (a slave of Magellan, born in Sumatra) met people who spoke his native language. As they say in the history books: "the circle is closed", a man for the first time circumnavigated the globe.

On April 27, on the island of Mactan, Ferdinand Magellan died in battles with the local population. He was 41 years old. The first round-the-world trip continued without him.
The sailors had to go around the Cape of Good Hope and along the western coast of Africa to return home.

On September 6, 1522, the Victoria reached Spain, the only surviving ship out of five that sailed. It had 18 survivors. Another 18 people a few months later returned home from Portuguese captivity. The rest died: many from scurvy, others during rebellions and battles with the natives.

Those who returned home were the first people who, while traveling around the world, lost a day. Their calendar lagged behind the calendar of their compatriots for a whole day. Then Jules Verne described this phenomenon in the novel "Around the World in 80 Days". And today this time difference is not a problem due to the introduction of local time, which is different from universal time.

The expedition led by Magellan turned out to be successful not only in educational, but also in commercial terms. The value of the cargo from the ship "Victoria" paid for all the expenses of the journey, and brought a significant profit to those who gave money to carry out the enterprise. Magellan was not destined to meet a secure old age in his homeland, but judging by his actions, he did not dream about this.

And the names of 18 who returned to Spain after the First World Voyage can be found on Wikipedia: captain, sailors, pilots, cabin boy, gunner, cabin boy assistant.

This is interesting. History is made by people, people with a destiny and a biography.

Fernand Magellan (Fernand de Magalhaes) - (born November 20, 1480 - death April 27, 1521)

What did Magellan Ferdinand discover?

The outstanding Portuguese navigator Magellan Fernand, his expedition made the first ever circumnavigation of the world, which involved the search for a western route to the Moluccas. This proved the existence of a single world ocean and provided practical proof of the spherical shape of the Earth. Magellan discovered the entire coast of South America south of La Plata, circled the continent from the south, discovered the strait, which was named after him, and the Patagonian Cordillera; first crossed the Pacific Ocean.

Biography of Ferdinand Magellan

Among the people who made global upheavals in the minds of people and the development of mankind, travelers could also play a significant role. The most striking figure of them is the Portuguese Fernand de Magalhaes, who became known to the whole world under the Spanishized name of Fernand Magellan.

Ferdinand Magellan was born in 1470 in the locality of Sabrosa, in the remote northeastern province of Portugal, Traz os Leontes. His family belonged to a noble but impoverished knightly family and was respected at court. It was not in vain that King João II of Fernand's father, Pedro Ruy de Magalhães, appointed senior alcalde * of the strategically important harbor of Aveiro.

(* Alcalde is a judicial or municipal official who had executive power. His main task was to maintain public order).

Education

Connections at court made it possible for the alcalde in 1492 to attach his eldest son as a page to Queen Eleanor. So, Fernand received the right to be brought up in the royal residence. There, in addition to the knightly arts - horseback riding, fencing, falconry - he was able to master astronomy, navigation and cartography. At the Portuguese court, these items have been mandatory for young courtiers since the time of Prince Henry the Navigator. It was they who had to go on long-distance sea expeditions with the aim of conquering and discovering new lands. No wonder their lessons were observed by King Manuel himself, who replaced Juan on the throne.

The ambitious Fernand became seriously interested in navigation. In an effort to stay away from palace intrigues, in 1504 he asked the king to let him go to India under the leadership of the Viceroy of India, Francisco de Almeida, and, having received consent, left Lisbon in the spring of 1505.

Career of Magalhaes the Navigator

Almeida's expedition was purely military in nature and had the goal of subduing the recalcitrant Muslim rulers from Sofala to Hormuz and from Cochin to Bab el-Mandeb. Muslim fortifications had to be wiped off the face of the earth and Portuguese fortresses had to be built in their place.

Magalhaes took part in sea and land battles at Kilva, Sofal, Mombasa, Kannanur, Calicut, as well as in the sacking of these cities, and over time turned into a valiant warrior, experienced and accustomed to any cruelties and misadventures of his harsh era. He quickly gained a reputation as a brave captain, skilled in combat and navigation. At the same time, even then, concern for brothers in arms became one of the main features of the future pioneer of circumnavigations.

1509 - During the battles near Malacca, Magalhaes was able to become famous, almost single-handedly coming to the aid of a handful of his compatriots who were attacked by the Malays. He acted in the same nobility during his return from Malacca to India. At the head of only 5 people, Fernand hurried to the aid of the Portuguese caravel and helped to win.

At the very beginning of 1510, the career of Magalhaes the navigator almost came to an end: during the unsuccessful assault on Calicut, he was seriously wounded, and for the second time. The first wound, received during a campaign against Morocco, made him lame for the rest of his life. Dejected, Fernand decided to return to his homeland.

Magellan's route

In the spring, a small flotilla of three ships left Cochin for Portugal. On board one of the ships was Magalhaes. But this time he never made it home. A hundred miles from the Indian coast, two ships ran into the pitfalls of the dangerous Padua shoal and sank. The officers and distinguished passengers decided to return to India on the remaining ship, leaving their rootless companions without water and food on a narrow sandy shoal, for whom there was no place on the ship. Fernand refused to sail with them: nobility and high rank were a kind of guarantee that help could still be sent for those who remained. In the end, that is what happened. Two weeks later, the shipwrecked were rescued, and upon arrival in India, they everywhere talked about the extraordinary firmness of their patron, who managed, under difficult conditions, to arouse hope in people and strengthen stamina.

Fernand remained in India for some time. According to the documents, he boldly expressed his opinion in cases where other captains were silent. This, probably, could be the main reason for his disagreement with the new Viceroy Afonso de Albuquerque.

Portugal

Summer 1512 - Magalhaes returned to Portugal. This is evidenced by an entry in the pay slip of the royal court, according to which he was assigned a monthly royal pension of 1000 Portuguese reais. After 4 weeks, it was almost doubled, which may indicate that the merits of the valiant captain were recognized by the court.

During the war with the Moors of Azamora (modern Azemmour in Morocco), Fernand was appointed major, that is, he received a rather prestigious and profitable position. At his complete disposal were the prisoners and all the captured trophies. Fasting provided unlimited opportunities for personal enrichment, therefore Magalhaes had no shortage of ill-wishers.

After some time, he was unreasonably accused of organizing an attack by the Moors on a herd and allowing 400 heads of cattle to be stolen, receiving a lot of money for this. After some time, the charge was dropped, but the offended Fernand resigned.

Left without sufficient means of subsistence, the warrior known for his valor hoped for the mercy of the king. He asked Manuel to increase his pension by only 200 Portuguese reais. But the king did not like people with a strong character and, according to the chronicler Barrush, "... always had an aversion to him," and therefore refused. Indignant, Magalhaes secretly left his homeland in 1517 and moved to Spain.

Spain

Since that time, the history of an unprecedented sea voyage around the Earth begins, the sphericity of which was then only assumed. And the merit of its organization and implementation belongs entirely to Fernand Magalhaes, who from now on has become Ferdinand Magellan.

Later, King Manuel caught on and, with tenacity worthy of a better use, began to prevent Magellan from carrying out his plans. But the mistake could no longer be corrected, and Portugal, for the second time after history, lost the chance to benefit from the discoveries of its great sons, underestimating their potential.

"Moluccan Armada" - ships of Magellan

It is known that even in Portugal he carefully studied nautical charts, made acquaintances with sailors and dealt a lot with the problems of determining geographic longitude. All this helped him a lot in realizing his idea.

According to the papal bull Inter cetera of 1493, all new territories discovered to the east of the demarcation line established in 1494 belonged to Portugal, and to the west - to Spain. But the method of calculating geographic longitude, adopted at that time, did not allow for a clear demarcation of the Western Hemisphere. Therefore, Magellan, as well as his friend and assistant, the astrologer and cosmographer Ruy Faleiro, believed that the Moluccas should not belong to Portugal, but to Spain.

1518, March - they presented their project to the Council of the Indies. After lengthy negotiations, it was accepted, and the Spanish King Carlos I (aka Holy Roman Emperor Charles V) undertook to equip 5 ships and allocate supplies for 2 years. In the event of the discovery of new lands, companions were given the right to become their rulers. They also received 20% of the income. In this case, the rights were to be inherited.

Shortly before this significant event, serious changes took place in the life of Fernand. Arriving in Seville, he joined the colony of Portuguese emigrants. One of them, the commandant of the Alcazar of Seville, Diogo Barbosa, introduced the valiant captain into his family. His son Duarte became a close friend of Fernand, and his daughter Beatrice became his wife.

Magellan really did not want to leave his young, passionately loving wife and recently born son, but duty, ambition and the desire to provide for his family persistently called him to the sea. Could not stop him and the unfavorable astrological forecast made by Faleyru. But it was precisely because of this that Ruy refused to participate in the voyage, and Magellan became its sole leader and organizer.

Magellan's voyage around the world

In Seville, 5 ships were prepared - the flagship Trinidad, San Antonio, Concepción, Victoria and Santiago. On September 20, 1519, Ferdinand Magellan said goodbye to the pregnant Beatrice and the newborn Rodrigo on the pier and ordered to raise the anchor. They were not destined to see each other again.

The lists of a small flotilla included 265 people: commanders and helmsmen, boatswains, gunners, ordinary sailors, priests, carpenters, caulkers, coopers, soldiers and people who did not have specific duties. All this motley multinational crew (in addition to the Spaniards and the Portuguese there were also Italians, Germans, French, Flemings, Sicilians, British, Moors and Malays) had to be kept in obedience. And discontent began almost from the first weeks of sailing. Agents of the Portuguese king infiltrated the ships, and through the zeal of the Portuguese consul in Seville, Alvaris, the holds were partially filled with rotten flour, moldy crackers and rotten corned beef.

On September 26, sailors reached the Canary Islands, on October 3 headed for Brazil, and on December 13 they entered the bay of Rio de Janeiro. From here, travelers headed south along the South American coast in search of a passage to the "South Sea", while moving only during the day, so as not to miss it in the dark. 1520, March 31 - the ships entered the bay of San Julian off the coast of Patagonia for the winter.

rebellion

Ferdinand Magellan - suppression of the rebellion

Soon Magellan had to give the order to reduce the diet. But part of the crew opposed such a decision and began to demand a return to Spain, but received a decisive refusal. Then, during the celebration of Easter, the leaders of the rebels, taking advantage of the fact that the bulk of the crews went ashore, were able to capture three ships.

Magellan decided to use force and cunning. He sent several loyal people to the Victoria with a letter to the rebellious treasurer Luis de Mendoza. He was stabbed while reading the letter, and the crew offered no resistance. The next day, two rebellious captains, Gaspar de Quesada and Juan de Cartagena, tried to withdraw their ships from the bay, but the Trinidad, Santiago and Victoria recaptured from the rebels blocked their path. The San Antonio surrendered without resistance. Quesada, who commanded them, was immediately arrested, and after some time Cartagena was also captured.

By order of Ferdinand Magellan, the dead body of Mendoza was quartered, Quesada was cut off his head, and Cartagena and the traitor priest Pedro Sanchez de la Reina were left on the shore. But the rebellious sailors did not suffer. They were given life, mainly because they were needed for ship work.

Strait of Magellan

Soon the squadron, which lost the Santiago during reconnaissance, moved further south. But the betrayals didn't stop there. On November 1, when the squadron was already moving through the desired strait, later called Magellanic, helmsman Ishteban Gomish, taking advantage of the fact that his ship was out of sight from the rest of the ships, captured the San Antonio and fled to Spain. Magellan never found out about the betrayal, just as he did not know what a fatal role Gomis played in the fate of his family. Arriving in Spain, the deserter accused his captain-general of treason against the king. As a result, Beatrice and her children were placed under house arrest and interrogation. She was deprived of state benefits and left in severe need. Neither she nor her sons lived to see the return of the expedition. And Gomes for "outstanding services rendered to the flotilla of Magellan" was awarded a knighthood by the king.

Discovery of the Marianas

On November 28, the ships of Ferdinand Magellan entered the ocean, on which no European had yet sailed. The weather, fortunately, remained good, and the navigator named the Pacific Ocean. Crossing it, he walked at least 17 thousand km and discovered many small islands, but inaccurate calculations did not allow them to be identified with any specific points on the map. Only the discovery in early March 1521 of two inhabited islands, Guam and Rota, the southernmost of the Mariana Islands, is considered indisputable. Magellan called them Robbers. The islanders stole a boat from the sailors, and the captain-general, having landed with a detachment on the shore, burned several native huts.

This voyage lasted almost 4 months. Despite the absence of hurricanes characteristic of this area, people had a very hard time. They were forced to eat sugar dust mixed with worms, drink rotten water, eat cowhide, sawdust and ship rats. These creatures seemed to them almost a delicacy and were sold for half a ducat apiece.

The crew was tortured by scurvy, many people died. But Magellan continued to confidently lead the squadron forward and somehow, on a proposal to return, he said: “We will go forward, even if we had to eat all the cowhide.”

Discovery of the Philippine Islands

1521, March 15 - the expedition ended up near the island of Samar (Philippines), and a week later, moving still to the west, arrived at the island of Limasava, where the slave of Magellan, the Malay Enrique, heard his native speech. This meant that the travelers were somewhere near the Spice Islands, that is, they had almost completed their task.

And yet the navigator sought to reach the cherished islands. But he decided to stay for a while in order to convert the Filipinos to Christianity.

1521, April 7 - the flotilla anchored off the island of Cebu, where a large port and the residence of the rajah was located. The sincerely religious Magellan insisted that the islanders accept Christianity without counting on any material benefits, but, unwittingly, he convinced the natives that they could count on a benevolent attitude from the powerful Spanish king only if they renounced the old faith. and worship the cross.

On April 14, the ruler of Cebu Humabon decided to be baptized. The cunning raja, now called Carlos, enlisted the support of Magellan against his pagan enemies and, thus, in one day subjugated everyone who challenged his power. In addition, Humabon secured a promise that when Magellan returned to the Philippines at the head of a large fleet, he would make him the sole ruler of all the islands as a reward for being the first to convert to Christianity. Moreover, the rulers of the nearby islands were also brought to obedience. But the leader of one of these islands, Mactana, named Silapulapu, did not want to submit to Carlos Humabon. Then the navigator decided to use force.

Death of Magellan

Death of Magellan

1521, April 27 - 60 armed men in armor, with several small guns, boarded boats and headed for Mactan. They were accompanied by several hundred Humabon warriors. But luck turned away from the Spaniards. The captain-general underestimated the enemy, not in time remembering the history of the conquest of Mexico, when a handful of Spaniards were able to take over the whole country. In the battle with the warriors of Mactan, his battle-hardened companions were defeated, and the captain-general himself laid down his head. During the retreat to the boats, the natives overtook him in the water. Wounded in the arm and leg, the already lame Magellan fell. What happened next is eloquently described by the chronicler of the expedition, Antonio Pigafett:

“The captain fell face down, and immediately they threw iron and bamboo spears at him and began to strike with cleavers until they destroyed our mirror, our light, our joy and our true leader. He kept turning back to see if we all had time to dive into the boats ... "

The further fate of the sailors

Subsequent events testified to the correctness of Pigafetta, who called Magellan "the true leader." Apparently, only he could keep this greedy pack in check, ready at any time for betrayal.

His successors failed to hold on to the positions they had won. The first thing they did was to deliver the bartered goods to the ships with feverish haste. Then one of the new leaders thoughtlessly insulted the Malay Enrique, and he persuaded Humabon to betrayal. The Raja lured some of the Spaniards into a trap and ordered them to be killed, and demanded a ransom for the surviving captain of the Concepción, Juan Serrau. Seeing him as a rival, Juan Carvalo, temporarily appointed commander of the flotilla, abandoned his comrade and ordered to raise the sails.

About 120 people survived. On three ships, by touch, often changing course, they nevertheless reached the Moluccas, destroying the worm-eaten Concepción along the way. Here they, not thinking about the possible danger from the local population, where the Spaniards were not very fond of, and the difficulties of the way home, rushed to buy spices. In the end, the Victoria, under the command of Esteban Elcano, left the Moluccas, and the heavily loaded Trinidad remained for repairs. Finally, his crew, who made an unsuccessful attempt to get to Panama, were captured. For a long time its members languished in prisons and plantations, first in the Moluccas and then in the Banda Islands. Later they were sent to India, where they lived on alms and were under the vigilant supervision of the authorities. Only five in 1527 were lucky enough to return to their homeland.

And the Victoria, under the command of Elcano, diligently bypassing the routes of the Portuguese ships, crossed the southern part of the Indian Ocean, rounded the Cape of Good Hope and through the Cape Verde Islands on September 8, 1522, arrived in the Spanish harbor of San Lucar. Of her crew, only 18 people survived (according to other sources - 30).

At home, the sailors had a hard time. Instead of honors, they got public repentance for one “lost” day (as a result of moving around the earth in time zones). From the point of view of the clergy, this could only happen as a result of breaking fasts.

Elcano, however, received honors. He received a coat of arms depicting the globe with the inscription "You were the first to travel around me" and a pension of 500 ducats. And no one remembered Magellan.

The true role of this remarkable man in history was able to appreciate the descendants, and, unlike Columbus, it has never been disputed. His voyage revolutionized the concept of the Earth. After this journey, any attempts to deny the sphericity of the planet completely ceased, it was proved that the world ocean is one, ideas were obtained about the true size of the globe, it was finally established that America is an independent continent, a strait was found between two oceans. And it is not for nothing that Stefan Zweig wrote in his book The Feat of Magellan: “Only he enriches mankind who helps him to know himself, who deepens his creative self-awareness. And in this sense, the feat accomplished by Magellan surpasses all the feats of his time.