Реферат: Ferdinand Magellan Essay Research Paper Ferinand Magellan

Spaniards became suspicious of Magellan, mainly because he recruited many Portuguese

sailors. Therefore, the king forced Magellan to replace most of the Portuguese with Spanish

crewman.

On September 20, 1519, Magellan set sail from Sanlucar de Barrameda in southern

Spain. Magellan commanded a total of 241 of many nationalities and a fleet of 5 ships, the

Concepcion, San Antonio, Santiago, Trinidad, and Victoria. The fleet sailed across the Atlantic

Ocean to the coast of Brazil. They followed the South American coast to the bay where Rio de

Janeiro now stands. They stayed there for two weeks and then sailed south in search of a

passage to the Pacific Ocean. In late March 1520, the fleet anchored for the winter at Puerto San

Julian in what is now southern Argentina. Then in winter, a storm destroyed the Santiago.

Magellan and loyal crewmembers put down the mutiny, executed the leader, and marooned two

other mutineers when the fleet sailed again. They resumed their voyage in October 1520.

They discovered a passage to the Pacific- known as the Strait of Magellan. While sailing

through the fleet aboard the San Antonio mutinied and returned to Spain. The three remaining

ships continued. Magellan named the ocean the Pacific because it means peaceful and it

appeared to be calm. They were the first Europeans ever to sail across the Pacific Ocean. They

sailed for 98 days without seeing any land. Their food gave out and their water supply became

contaminated. They ate rats, ox hides, and sawdust to avoid starvation. Most of the crew

suffered from scurvy.

Magellan and his crew remained in the Philippines for several weeks. Magellan took

special pride in converting many of the people into Christianity. However, he involved himself

in rivalries among the people. On April 27, 1521, Magellan was killed when he took part in a

battle between rival Filipino groups on the island of Mactan.

Only about 110 of the original crew members remained. They abandoned the

Concepcion, and the two remaining vessels sailed southward to the Spice Islands where their

ships were loaded with spices. The Trinidad tried to sail eastward across the Pacific to the

Isthmus of Panama. Bad weather and disease cause more than half of the crewmen to die. The

remaining crew was forced to return to the Spice Islands where the Portuguese imprisoned them.

The Victoria continued westward back to Spain. It finally reached Sanlucar de Barrameda on