FERDINAND MAGELLAN
History:
• Set sail: August 1519
Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese explorer, sailed under the Spanish flag to find a new
trading route to the Spice Islands in Indonesia. He set sail to the west with 270 men
and 5 ships; the Trinidad, the San Antonio, the Concepcion, the Victoria, and the Santiago.
But the earth was much larger than he expected and when they finally reached South
America they had to stop in Patagonia and wait out the bad weather. When they
resumed the search for the channel that would lead them through to the Spice Islands,
the Santiago was wrecked and the San Antonio fled eastward back to Spain.
The other three ships made it to the Philippines, where Magellan was killed in a battle.
At this point there were only enough men left to man two ships, so they burned the
Concepcion. The Trinidad was captured and wrecked, so the Victoria, under Juan
Elcano’s command, with 17 other men on board was the only ship to return to Spain.
This was the first successful circumnavigation of the globe.
FUN FACTS
• Magellan gave name to the Pacific Ocean. He called it Pacific because its waters
were so still and calm.
• Magellan’s crew saw many animals that were new to the Europeans, such as llamas,
guanaco, alpaca, and penguins.
NO. OF LEGO BRICKS: APPROX 24,2
BUILDING TIME: 268 HOURS