The Author

Ferdinand Magellan, or Fernão de Magalhães, a Portuguese explorer, was the first who circumnavigated the globe. Born 4 February 1480 into a family of minor Portuguese nobility, either in Porto or in Sabrosa. After school, he became a Portuguese mariner. His plan to find a shorter route to the Spice Islands by sailing west, across the Atlantic Ocean, around South America and across the Pacific was refused by the Portuguese king. So, n 1517, Magellan moved to Spain, to offer his plan to the Spanish court. King Charles accepted it and on September 20, 1519, Magellan started with a fleet of five ships: Trinidad, San Antonio, Concepción, Santiago and Victoria. In November 1520 they found the passage in southern Chile and the fleet reached the Pacific by the end of November 1520. In March 1521, they reached the island of Guam and afterwards the Philippine Islands. There, in the Battle of Mactan, Magellan was killed on 27 April 1521. To navigate back to Spain the two remaining ships split, one of them, the Victoria, sailed westwards and reached Spain on September 8, 1522.

Portrait of Ferdinand Magellan

(ca 1550-1625, Mariners' Museum,

Newport News, Virginia/USA )

Inscription:

FERDINAN MAGELLANVS.SVPERATIS,

ANTARCTICI FRETI ANGVSTIIS CLARISS

(Ferdinand Magellan is most famous for having

conquered the difficulties of the Antarctic Strait.)

Work

Magellan's Expedition (by Antonio Pigafetta)

Appendix

Ferdinand Magellan (Wikipedia)

Sources/Colophon