Fernand de Magellan (Fernão de Magalhães in Portuguese), born in Sines near Setúbal (Portugal), spring 1480 - died on the island of Mactan (Philippines), April 27, 1521, was a Portuguese navigator and explorer.
In the 15th century, the fact that the Earth was round was not certainly not common knowledge. But many cartographers were aware of it; Martin Behaim draws up, from 1515 in Nuremberg, a terrestrial globe. Although Christopher Columbus before Magellan could affirm it or at least come close to this truth, doubt still existed. Also at this time, Europe had developed a taste for spices, uncommon in the region, which developed the interest of some geographers, explorers and traders.
Magellan, navigator, convinced that the earth was round, was convinced that he could reach, by taking a route going west, the spice islands he had already approached in his youth, when he was serving in the Albuquerque fleet. The Portuguese fleets had already discovered the route to India by circumventing Africa. Even before he set out on his journey, which historians call a “discovery”, the Moluccan Islands where the precious vanilla originated were already ruled by one of Magellan’s personal friends, Francisco Serrao.
When Magellan proposed to the king of Portugal to open a new route to these islands, he could not convince anyone, the spice trade was already in the hands of the Portuguese, and the islands were already under their control. A skilled communicator, Magellan addressed himself to the King of Spain, Charles V, who at that time was only 18 years old. The challenge was not so much the discovery of the islands, as the establishment of an exact cartography allowing to delimit the territorial extensions of Spain and Portugal, defined by the Treaty of Tordesillas.
The first trips
Magellan first sailed in 1505, aged 25, when he was sent to India to install Francisco de Almeida as Portuguese viceroy. The trip gave Magellan his first combat experience when the local king, who had sworn allegiance to Vasco da Gama three years before, refused to recognize Almeida. Almeida's troops then attacked and conquered the capital of Kilwa, in present-day Tanzania.
In 1505 Magellan traveled to the East Indies and joined expeditions in search of Spice Island. In February 1509, he took part in the Battle of Diu, which marked the decline of the Ottoman Empire in this region. In 1510 he was made an officer. Less than a year later, he lost his rank for steering his ship too far east without permission, and he was forced to return to Portugal in 1512.
In 1513 Magellan was sent to Morocco, where he took part in the battle of Azamor. During the fighting, he was severely injured in the knee. After leaving without permission, he lost favor with Francisco de Almeida, and was accused of illegal trade with the Moors. These accusations were quickly dropped, but Magellan fell out of favor at the court of the new king, Manuel I. The latter refused to increase Magellan's pension and warned him that he would do without his services as of May 15, 1514. Magellan decided for this reason to offer his services to the Court of Spain.
The trip around the world
Preparations
Magellan proposed to the King of Portugal to lead an expedition to the Spice Islands (Moluccas Islands) via the west, but Portugal refused since, according to the Treaty of Tordesillas, these islands were in the geographical area reserved for the Crown of Castile, and that he wanted to avoid going to war with Spain.
In October 1517 in Seville, Magellan got in touch with Juan de Aranda, head of the Casa de Contratación. Then, following the arrival of his partner, Rui Faleiro, and thanks to the support of Aranda, they presented their project to the Spanish monarch, Charles V, who had just arrived in Spain. Magellan's proposal seemed particularly interesting to him, since it would open the spice route without damaging relations with the Portuguese neighbor, an action that would not fail to bring wealth and honors to the monarchy.
On March 22, 1518, the king appointed Magellan and Faleiro as captains so that they could go in search of Spice Island. By this appointment, the king granted them:
* the monopoly on the discovery route for a period of ten years.
* their appointment as governors of the lands and islands they would encounter, with 5% of the resulting net earnings.
* one-fifth of trip earnings.
* the right to deduct one thousand ducats from future trips, paying only 5% on excess.
* the concession of an island to everyone, except the six richest, of which they would receive only a fifteenth.
The expeditions would be financed by the crown and provided with five ships equipped with provisions for two years of travel.
This proposal was to be very favorably received by the crown which, since the Junta de Toro in 1505, had set itself the objective of discovering the spice route. She also benefited from the stories of other explorers before him.
An endless number of problems will arise in the preparation of this trip, a lack of money, the king of Portugal who will seek to have them arrested, and the argument between Faleiro and Magellan. Eventually, thanks to the tenacity of Magellan, the expedition will see the light of day. Through Bishop Juan Rodríguez de Fonseca they obtain economic support from the merchant Cristóbal de Haro, who will provide a fifth of the funds.
In the 15th century, there were many explorers and geographers from Portugal, so many that they, like Magellan and Christopher Columbus, had to go into exile to be able to find the funds to live their adventures. We therefore have a major problem here, because these two admirals, one Portuguese, the other of unknown origin, had to manage a flotilla (three boats for Columbus, five for Magellan) of sailors and Spanish captains. Conflicts were to be expected and, in Magellan's case, they didn't take long.
They set sail on September 20, 1519, from Sanlúcar de Barrameda with nearly 240[1] crewmen on five boats:the Trinidad, a ship commanded by Magellan; the Victoria; the San Antonio; Concepción and Santiago. Magellan is 39 years old at this time.
Although the American continent had already been discovered, it should not be forgotten that Columbus was a contemporary of Magellan, on the other hand, when the Americas (called the West Indies) were discovered, Magellan was only 12 years old.
There were several Portuguese colonies already established in America, mainly in the region of present-day Brazil.
Of the five captains of the expedition, it seems that at least three do not share the same views as Magellan, to the point that some want to eliminate him. On board this expedition, the Italian Antonio Pigafetta keeps a diary of the trip. It is thanks to him that we have received not only information on the mutineers but the complete account of the trip because he was one of the 18 survivors. After a brief stay in the Canary Islands, the leader of the mutiny, Juan de Cartegena Grand of Spain, is taken prisoner. Four months pass and the flotilla arrives near the coast of Brazil in December. The flotilla flies the Spanish flag and Brazil is a Portuguese colony, which is why Magellan decides to anchor off what is now Rio de Janeiro. We refuel there and then sail south to try to get around South America. It is December 1519 and the further south Magellan sails, the colder it gets. Magellan decides to spend the winter in Patagonia (Argentina). While he is there, another mutiny is organized. Cartegena was a prisoner on the ship Victoria, whose captain Luis de Mendoza decides to release Cartegena. Magellan can, once again, get rid of these mutineers. He abandons Cartegena in Patagonia and executes another mutinous captain, Gaspar de Quesada.
A mutiny then a shipwreck
On March 31, 1520, the Armada found refuge in a natural port:Port Saint Julien. It is here that the Easter mutiny will break out, from which Magellan will get out but with serious consequences... During the summer (winter in the northern hemisphere), Magellan decides to send one of his ships to reconnaissance to find the famous passage that would bring him to the west of America, towards the Pacific Ocean. Unfortunately the ship Santiago ran aground in May. Three months later Magellan decides to head back south with the four remaining ships. It was in October that Magellan saw the passage, to the west, which he then called Toussaint Strait. In the maze of fjords, surrounded by threatening cliffs, in sinister waters, reefs and shoals, which it will take more than a month to cross, the story goes that during the crossing of the straits, the sailors see many fires on the coast, and therefore call this coast the Tierra del Fuego. The strait was later named (by Gerardus Mercator in 1541) Strait of Magellan, in his honor. A boat runs aground, another, the San Antonio, seditions (first consequence of the mutiny) and leaves for Seville with a large part of the food.
Starvation
At the time of Magellan, the circumference of the Earth was not yet known with precision, despite the work of Eratosthenes who had calculated it almost 18 centuries earlier. Magellan believes her to be much smaller than she actually is. Magellan believes that once he crosses the strait, he will quickly arrive at the Spice Islands. A matter of a few days. He has no idea of the vastness of the Pacific Ocean and during his most direct crossing possible, unfortunately, he does not approach any of the many islands dotted in the South Seas, with the exception of two atolls. , called las islas de los Tiburones (today, Caroline Island Kiribati) where he could not land.
The water is no longer drinkable, the rations are dwindling, even the biscuit runs out, the crew must survive by eating rats. Without fruit or vitamin C, scurvy attacks the crew. Around March 1521, after four months, they arrived in Guam where they could get a good supply including fresh fruit. They then set sail for the Philippines, and arrived there on March 28.
They found landscapes of idylls, spices, multicolored birds, welcoming natives who apparently allowed themselves to be converted without difficulty (it was also one of the goals of the trip).
Lapu-Lapu, king of the tiny islet of Mactan, opposite Cebu, refuses to submit to the white invaders, he confronts Magellan who estimates that sixty Spaniards in armor with arquebuses can resist naked natives ten times more numerous than them. A shower of poisoned arrows are fired by them. One of them reached Magellan, who died there, in a few centimeters of water.
The return
the Victoria, the first ship to circumnavigate the globe. Replica ship displayed at Expo Aichi 2005
Victoria, the first ship to circumnavigate the globe.
Replica ship displayed at Expo Aichi 2005
His successor in command of the flotilla is Juan Sebastian del Cano. Of the 260 sailors at the start, there are barely 100 left, not enough for a flotilla of three boats. In addition, the worms have attacked the hull of the Concepciõn... So to prevent it from falling into the hands of an enemy, it will be burned. The two ships therefore left the Philippines at the beginning of May and arrived at the famous Spice Islands 6 months later.
They reach the Spice Islands in November. These are the Moluccas Islands, which they realize (but were they really unaware of it?) that they have already been in the hands of the Portuguese for fifteen years. The crews load the two remaining ships with spices. As the Vitoria prepares to leave the port, the Trinidad sinks into the water and lists miserably! She is forced to stay to make repairs, and will leave for 4 months later. La Trinidad, 53 men, commanded by Carvalho, was boarded by Portuguese sailors who only found twenty ghost sailors on board. La Victoria, 60 men, commander Elcano left the island of Tidore on December 21, 1521 and succeeded in to cross the Indian Ocean and round the Cape of Good Hope, to reach Spain. There are only 18 crew members left, including Antonio Pigafetta, who was able to tell us the story. The Victoria was the first boat who completed the complete circumnavigation of the globe. All expenses deducted, the spices brought back to the bottom of the hold provided the enormous profit of 428,000 maravedis. It would be 58 years before Sir Francis Drake succeeded in the second circumnavigation.
We must try to understand by placing ourselves in the sixteenth century the chances, the difficulties and the heroism of such an enterprise.