Ferdinand Magellan

"Magellan" redirects here. For the railcar, see Ferdinand Magellan (railcar). For other uses, see Magellan (disambiguation).

Ferdinand Magellan
Ferdinand Magellan, in a 16th- or 17th-century anonymous portrait
Born
Fernão de Magalhães

c. 1480
Northern Portugal[note 1]
Died27 April 1521(1521-04-27) (aged 40–41)
Chiefdom of Mactan
(now Mactan, Philippines)
Burial placeLost at war
NationalityPortuguese
Known for
Signature

Ferdinand Magellan[a] (c. 1480 – 27 April 1521) was a Portuguese[3] explorer best known for having planned and led the 1519–22 Spanish expedition to the East Indies, which achieved the first circumnavigation of Earth in history. During this expedition, he also discovered the Strait of Magellan, allowing his fleet to pass from the Atlantic into the Pacific Ocean and perform the first European navigation to Asia via the Pacific. Magellan died in the Philippines during his voyage, and his crew completed the return trip to Spain in 1522.

Born c. 1480 into a family of minor Portuguese nobility, Magellan became a skilled sailor and naval officer in service of the Portuguese Crown in Asia. King Manuel I refused to support Magellan's plan to reach the Moluccas, or Spice Islands, by sailing westwards around the American continent. Magellan then proposed the same plan to King Charles I of Spain, who approved it. In Seville, he married, fathered two children, and organized the expedition.[4] In 1518, for his allegiance to the Hispanic monarchy, Magellan was appointed an admiral of the Spanish fleet and given command of the expedition—the five-ship "Armada of Molucca." He was also made a Commander of the Order of Santiago, one of the highest military ranks of the Spanish Empire.[5]

Granted special powers and privileges by the king, he led the Armada from Sanlucar de Barrameda southwest across the Atlantic Ocean, to the eastern coast of South America, and south to Patagonia. Despite a series of storms and mutinies, the expedition successfully passed through the Strait of Magellan into the Mar del Sur, which Magellan renamed the Mar Pacifico, or Pacific Ocean.[6] The expedition landed at Guam after an arduous crossing of the Pacific, and then reached the Philippines. There, in April 1521, Magellan was killed in the Battle of Mactan. Under the command of captain Juan Sebastian Elcano, the expedition finally reached the Spice Islands. The fleet's two remaining ships then split ways, one attempting, unsuccessfully, to reach New Spain by sailing east across the Pacific. The other, commanded by Elcano, sailed west across the Indian Ocean and north along the Atlantic coast of Africa, finally returning to Spain in September 1522 and achieving the first complete circuit of the globe.

While in the Kingdom of Portugal's service, Magellan had already reached the Malay Archipelago in Southeast Asia on previous voyages traveling east (from 1505 to 1511–1512). By visiting this area again but now traveling west, Magellan achieved a nearly complete personal circumnavigation of the globe for the first time in history.[7][8]


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  1. ^ "Magellan". Collins English Dictionary. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  2. ^ "Magellan". Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  3. ^ "Ferdinand Magellan | Biography, Voyage, Map, Accomplishments, Route, Discoveries, Death, & Facts | Britannica". www.britannica.com. 28 December 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  4. ^ Kinsella, Pat (27 April 2021). "Dire Straits: the story of Ferdinand Magellan's fatal voyage of discovery". BBC History Magazine. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  5. ^ Castro, Xavier de (dir.); Carmen Bernand; Hamon, Jocelyne et Thomaz, Luiz Filipe (2010). Le voyage de Magellan (1519–1522). La relation d'Antonio Pigafetta et autres témoignages (in French). Paris: Éditions Chandeigne, collection " Magellane ". ISBN 978-2915540574
  6. ^ Hartig, Otto (1 October 1910). "Ferdinand Magellan". Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 9. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved 31 October 2010 – via NewAdvent.org.
  7. ^ Miller, Gordon (2011). Voyages: To the New World and Beyond (1st ed.). University of Washington Press. p. 30. ISBN 978-0-295-99115-3.
  8. ^ Dutch, Steve (21 May 1997). "Circumnavigations of the Globe to 1800". University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. Archived from the original on 23 October 2014. Retrieved 11 October 2014.


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