Ferdinand Magellan
World Explorer
Pgs. 142-144
Ferdinand Magellan
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Ferdinand Magellan (1480-1521) was
a Portuguese explorer who led the first
expedition that sailed around the Earth
(1519-1522).
Magellan also named the Pacific
Ocean. The name means a calm,
peaceful ocean.
Early Life
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Magellan was born in Northern
Portugal.
His parents were members of the
nobility.
They were wealthy and powerful.
Early Life
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Early in his career, Magellan sailed to
India and to the Far East many times
around Africa's Cape of Good Hope.
He sailed for his native Portugal, but a
dispute with the Portuguese King
Manoel II turned him against the
Portuguese.
Thereafter, he sailed for Spain.
A New Route to Asia
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Magellan proposed to King Charles V
of Spain that a westward voyage
around the tip of South America would
take them to Asia.
The voyage began September 8, 1519.
Magellan sailed from Seville, Spain,
with five ships, the Trinidad, San
Antonio, Concepcion, Victoria, and
Santiago.
A Long Journey
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For months Magellan sailed up rivers
into the middle of South America
looking for a quick route to the Pacific.
Each time he failed to find a water
route.
In the fall of 1520, three of
Magellan’s ships sailed through what is
now called the Strait of Magellan, near
the tip of South America.
A Difficult Journey
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After crossing the Strait of Magellan,
the ships sailed across the Pacific.
As the months passed, their food
spoiled.
They ate biscuits crawling with worms,
and drank yellow water.
They ate rats, sawdust, and leather.
A Difficult Journey
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Many sailors died of hunger.
Others died of scury, a sickness
caused by not getting enough vitamin
C, which is found in fruits and
vegetables.
Dead sailors were tossed in the ocean.
Sharks followed the ships.
Land Spotted
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In March 1521 the ships reached the
Philippine Islands.
Magellan and his remaining crew
stayed in the Philippines for several
weeks.
Magellan was killed towards the end of
the voyage in the Philippines, during a
battle with the natives.
A Proven Theory
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Three years later in Sept. 1522, only
one ship - the Victoria - made it back
to Spain, carrying only 18 of the
original 270 crew members.
What Columbus believed was finally
proven true.
Europeans could reach Asia by sailing
west but first they had to go around
the Americas.