1521 : MAGELLAN KILLED IN THE PHILIPPINES:
After traveling three-quarters of the way around the globe, Portuguese
navigator Ferdinand Magellan is killed during a tribal skirmish on
Mactan Island in the Philippines. Earlier in the month, his ships had
dropped anchor at the Philippine island of Cebu, and Magellan met with
the local chief, who after converting to Christianity persuaded the
Europeans to assist him in conquering a rival tribe on the neighboring
island of Mactan. In the subsequent fighting, Magellan was hit by a
poisoned arrow and left to die by his retreating comrades.
Magellan, a Portuguese noble, fought for his country against the
Muslim domination of the Indian Ocean and Morocco. He participated in
a number of key battles and in 1514 asked Portugal's King Manuel for
an increase in his pension. The king refused, having heard unfounded
rumors of improper conduct on Magellan's part after a siege in
Morocco. In 1516, Magellan again made the request and the king again
refused, so Magellan went to Spain in 1517 to offer his services to
King Charles I, later Holy Roman Emperor Charles V.
In 1494, Portugal and Spain, at the prompting of Pope Alexander VI,
settled disputes over newly discovered lands in America and elsewhere
by dividing the world into two spheres of influence. A line of
demarcation was agreed to in the Atlantic Ocean--all new discoveries
west of the line were to be Spanish, and all to the east Portuguese.
Thus, South and Central America became dominated by the Spanish, with
the exception of Brazil, which was discovered by the Portuguese
explorer Pedro Alvares Cabral in 1500 and was somewhat east of the
demarcation line. Other Portuguese discoveries in the early 16th
century, such as the Moluccas Islands--the Spice Islands of
Indonesia--made the Spanish jealous.
To King Charles, Magellan proposed sailing west, finding a strait
through the Americas, and then continuing west to the Moluccas, which
would prove that the Spice Islands lay west of the demarcation line
and thus in the Spanish sphere. Magellan knew that the world was round
but underestimated its size, thinking that the Moluccas must be
situated just west of the American continent, not on the other side of
a great uncharted ocean. The king accepted the plan, and on September
20, 1519, Magellan set sail from Spain in command of five ships and
270 men.
Magellan sailed to West Africa and then to Brazil, where he searched
the South American coast for a strait that would take him to the
Pacific. He searched the Rio de la Plata, a large estuary south of
Brazil, for a way through; failing, he continued south along the coast
of Patagonia. At the end of March 1520, the expedition set up winter
quarter at Port St. Julian. On Easter day at midnight, the Spanish
captains mutinied against their Portuguese captain, but Magellan
crushed the revolt, executing one of the captains and leaving another
ashore when his ship left St. Julian in August.
On October 21, he finally discovered the strait he had been seeking.
The Strait of Magellan, as it became known, is located near the tip of
South America, separating Tierra del Fuego and the continental
mainland. Only three ships entered the passage; one had been wrecked
and another deserted. It took 38 days to navigate the treacherous
strait, and when ocean was sighted at the other end Magellan wept with
joy. He was the first European explorer to reach the Pacific Ocean
from the Atlantic. His fleet accomplished the westward crossing of the
ocean in 99 days, crossing waters so strangely calm that the ocean was
named "Pacific," from the Latin word pacificus, meaning "tranquil." By
the end, the men were out of food and chewed the leather parts of
their gear to keep themselves alive. On March 6, 1521, the expedition
landed at the island of Guam. Ten days later, they reached the
Philippines--they were only about 400 miles from the Spice Islands.
After Magellan's death, the survivors, in two ships, sailed on to the
Moluccas and loaded the hulls with spice. One ship attempted,
unsuccessfully, to return across the Pacific. The other ship, the
Victoria, continued west under the command of the Basque navigator
Juan Sebastian de Elcano. The vessel sailed across the Indian Ocean,
rounded the Cape of Good Hope, and arrived at Seville on September 9,
1522, becoming the first ship to circumnavigate the globe.
history.com/tdih.do
navigator Ferdinand Magellan is killed during a tribal skirmish on
Mactan Island in the Philippines. Earlier in the month, his ships had
dropped anchor at the Philippine island of Cebu, and Magellan met with
the local chief, who after converting to Christianity persuaded the
Europeans to assist him in conquering a rival tribe on the neighboring
island of Mactan. In the subsequent fighting, Magellan was hit by a
poisoned arrow and left to die by his retreating comrades.
Magellan, a Portuguese noble, fought for his country against the
Muslim domination of the Indian Ocean and Morocco. He participated in
a number of key battles and in 1514 asked Portugal's King Manuel for
an increase in his pension. The king refused, having heard unfounded
rumors of improper conduct on Magellan's part after a siege in
Morocco. In 1516, Magellan again made the request and the king again
refused, so Magellan went to Spain in 1517 to offer his services to
King Charles I, later Holy Roman Emperor Charles V.
In 1494, Portugal and Spain, at the prompting of Pope Alexander VI,
settled disputes over newly discovered lands in America and elsewhere
by dividing the world into two spheres of influence. A line of
demarcation was agreed to in the Atlantic Ocean--all new discoveries
west of the line were to be Spanish, and all to the east Portuguese.
Thus, South and Central America became dominated by the Spanish, with
the exception of Brazil, which was discovered by the Portuguese
explorer Pedro Alvares Cabral in 1500 and was somewhat east of the
demarcation line. Other Portuguese discoveries in the early 16th
century, such as the Moluccas Islands--the Spice Islands of
Indonesia--made the Spanish jealous.
To King Charles, Magellan proposed sailing west, finding a strait
through the Americas, and then continuing west to the Moluccas, which
would prove that the Spice Islands lay west of the demarcation line
and thus in the Spanish sphere. Magellan knew that the world was round
but underestimated its size, thinking that the Moluccas must be
situated just west of the American continent, not on the other side of
a great uncharted ocean. The king accepted the plan, and on September
20, 1519, Magellan set sail from Spain in command of five ships and
270 men.
Magellan sailed to West Africa and then to Brazil, where he searched
the South American coast for a strait that would take him to the
Pacific. He searched the Rio de la Plata, a large estuary south of
Brazil, for a way through; failing, he continued south along the coast
of Patagonia. At the end of March 1520, the expedition set up winter
quarter at Port St. Julian. On Easter day at midnight, the Spanish
captains mutinied against their Portuguese captain, but Magellan
crushed the revolt, executing one of the captains and leaving another
ashore when his ship left St. Julian in August.
On October 21, he finally discovered the strait he had been seeking.
The Strait of Magellan, as it became known, is located near the tip of
South America, separating Tierra del Fuego and the continental
mainland. Only three ships entered the passage; one had been wrecked
and another deserted. It took 38 days to navigate the treacherous
strait, and when ocean was sighted at the other end Magellan wept with
joy. He was the first European explorer to reach the Pacific Ocean
from the Atlantic. His fleet accomplished the westward crossing of the
ocean in 99 days, crossing waters so strangely calm that the ocean was
named "Pacific," from the Latin word pacificus, meaning "tranquil." By
the end, the men were out of food and chewed the leather parts of
their gear to keep themselves alive. On March 6, 1521, the expedition
landed at the island of Guam. Ten days later, they reached the
Philippines--they were only about 400 miles from the Spice Islands.
After Magellan's death, the survivors, in two ships, sailed on to the
Moluccas and loaded the hulls with spice. One ship attempted,
unsuccessfully, to return across the Pacific. The other ship, the
Victoria, continued west under the command of the Basque navigator
Juan Sebastian de Elcano. The vessel sailed across the Indian Ocean,
rounded the Cape of Good Hope, and arrived at Seville on September 9,
1522, becoming the first ship to circumnavigate the globe.
history.com/tdih.do
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