COMMUNITY Magellan
Magellan's death
Elcano
Magellan and the Spice Army
BY JULIAN PUTLEY
Magellan: 500 years on It’s been 500 years since Magellan’s fleet achieved the unbelievable feat of circumnavigating the world. He was the first globalist: an exceptional explorer and adventurer and his achievement should be celebrated on this anniversary. Nowadays, world leaders are struggling between nationalism and globalism and many of today’s problems can be traced back to the early explorers whose goal was often to trade Catholicism for gold. In the eyes of western explorers, indigenous peoples were pagans and useful only as slaves. Fernão de Magalhães (Ferdinand Magellan) was born in the Portuguese town of Sobrosa in 1480. At an early age, he voyaged from Lisbon, around the South African cape and on to India. He partook of several voyages through what is now Indonesia and the Spice Islands of the Moluccas. He gained a certain notoriety when he rescued one of the leaders of an exploratory expedition who became a victim of a conspiracy. In 1517, Magellan managed to convince Charles I of Spain to sponsor an expedition to the Spice Islands by a western route. The treaty of Tordesillas, ratified by the Pope in 1494, gave all lands west of a line of longitude (about 46 degrees 30 minutes west) to Spain. Charles gave Magellan command of a ‘spice army’ of five ships and 237 crew from more than ten nations. He departed Spain on 20 September 1519 searching for a passage to the Pacific and potentially to find a lucrative ‘spice route.’ Magellan sailed to West Africa and then to Brazil. After a false start up the Rio de la Plata, the expedition rested in Port St Julian where, after many months, a mutiny took place – the Spanish crew took exception to the Portuguese captain. The ringleader was executed and another mutineer marooned ashore. One ship was lost and another abandoned. By the time they found the strait, which was later named for the famous adventurer, there were only three ships left. It took 38 days to navigate the treacherous strait, and when the Pacific Ocean was sighted at the western end Magellan wept with joy; his vision that all the oceans of the world
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Courtesy of wikipedia.org were connected had come true. The voyage across the Pacific took an astonishing 99 days. By the end, the men were out of food and chewed the leather parts of their gear; rats were devoured and scurvy was rife. On the 6 of March 1521, the expedition landed at the island of Guam. Ten days later, they dropped anchor at the Philippine island of Cebu - they were only about 400 miles from the Spice Islands. Magellan met with the chief of Cebu, who was persuaded to convert to Christianity. In return, the explorers assisted in fighting a rival tribe on the neighbouring island of Mactan. Here, during a fierce battle, Magellan was killed by a poisoned arrow and the crew retreated under impossible odds. After Magellan’s death, the survivors, in two ships, sailed on to the Moluccas and loaded the vessels with spice. One ship attempted, unsuccessfully, to return across the Pacific. The other ship, the Victoria, continued west under the command of Basque navigator Juan Sebastian de Elcano. The vessel sailed across the Indian Ocean, rounded the Cape of Good Hope, and arrived at the Spanish port of Sanlucar de Barrameda near Cadiz on the 6 of September 1522, becoming the first ship to circumnavigate the globe. From five ships and 237 men, one ship returned, the Victoria, with only 17 men. The expedition’s goal of finding a spice route was successful but because of its arduous nature and long-distance it was not commercially useful. But the huge achievement had a significant impact on the understanding of the world. Spanish expeditions were soon using the Magellan Straits for exploration and exploitation of the American continent. Note: An exhibition displaying maps and details of this incredible voyage of discovery was shown at the Cultural Centre of Lagos ( 282 770 450) during August. It is hoped that the exhibit will be displayed again at the same venue during the 500-year anniversary time period. Call the above number for information.
Ferdinand Magellan's statue in Lisbon
Nau Victoria
