Ferdinand Magellan
My Project by Mark Patrick Telford, Aged 9yrs 6mths
My project is about Ferdinand Magellan. I chose him because he was the
first person to travel round the world, but he did it in two parts. He was
the first person to go around South America. He named the Pacific Ocean
because it was so peaceful compared to the Atlantic.
Magellan
came from Portugal and he lived in Lisbon. I went with my mum and dad to
Portugal on holiday and went to Lisbon. I tried with my mum and dad to
visit the castle where he probably lived but even though we could see it
at the top of the hill we could not find it. We went to Cape St Vincent to
a place called Sagres. Henry the Navigator , who was a prince and one of
Portugal's first explorers, had a school of navigation at Sages. There is
a huge compass on the ground. This is a statue of Henry the Navigator with
me and my dad in front of it. He has a sword because as well as being an
explorer he was protector of the Algarve and fought many battles.
Ferdinand Magellan (1480-1521)
He was a Portuguese navigator and explorer who sailed under the flags of
Portugal (1502 - 1516) and Spain (1519 - 1521). He commanded the first
expedition to sail round the world, and was the first European to cross
the Pacific Ocean. he proved that the Earth was round. He died in the
Philippines but his crew carried on the voyage round the world. many
people think it was the greatest navigational feat in history.
Early Life
Magellan was born in 1480 in Estoraos, in the Ponte de Lima County, in northern Portugal. His father
was Rui de Magalhaes and his mother Alda de Mesquita who belonged to the
Portuguese nobility. When he was 10 years old his parents died. he became
a court page to Queen Leonor in Lisbon when he was 12. While he was at
court he was educated and in 1496 he was promoted to squire. He worked as
a clerk in the marine department, where he helped get ships ready for
trade along the West coast of Africa. When he was a page he learnt of the
voyages of Christopher Columbus and later Vasco de Gama. Magellan was 19
when Vasco de Gama sailed back to Lisbon loaded with silks, pearls and
spices from India. This was the longest voyage until that time. Magellan
really wanted to be a sailor but King John was murdered and the new king,
Manuel, did not like exploration and did not like Magellan. he would not
let Magellan go to sea for 6 years.
To Sea At Last
King Manuel wanted money and power. The Arab traders were rich because
they brought spices to Europe from the East. Manuel decided that he would
do all the trading instead.. So he built 22 fighting ships to chase the
Arab traders from the seas. This was Magellan's big chance and he asked to
go to sea again. This time the king said yes and put him in charge of a
galley. he was 25 years old and the year was 1505.
He sailed to India with the fleet of Francisco de Almedia, Portugal's
first Viceroy to that country. he took part in sea battles against the
Arabs and Turks. he sank and destroyed many ships. He was wounded in a
great battle against a large Arab fleet near the port of din in North West
India and the Portuguese won.
Time to Explore
Magellan was interested in exploring more than fighting and as reward
the king had given him command of a ship. He sailed with an expedition and
went down the Malacca straits to the Spice Islands and continued North
East into the unknown and discovered the Philippines.
Magellan Upsets The King
There
was a treaty made in 1494 called the Treaty of Tordesillas. The treaty was
that any land discovered East of an imaginary line belonged to Portugal
and anything West belonged to Spain. The line went North to South through
Brazil. When Magellan discovered the Philippines he said that they might
belong to Spain because they were so far East. Nobody knew how big the
Earth was so Magellan could have been right King Manuel was furious
because that meant all the gold and spices belonged to Spain.
In 1512 Magellan went back to Lisbon and was sent to fight the Moroccans
at Azamor. During the battle Magellan was wounded and limped for life
afterwards. In 1514 Magellan went back to Lisbon and asked for an increase
in his royal allowance but King Manuel had heard stories about him that
said he had misbehaved while he was away. The stories were not true but
the king refused to give him the money. Magellan was sent back to Morocco.
In 1516 Magellan asked again for an increase in allowance but again the
king said no. Magellan had an idea of sailing West to the Spice Islands
instead of east and asked the king to support him. The king said "no
and I don't want you anymore."
Magellan Went To Spain
Magellan had been studying astronomy and navigation with Rui Faleiro who
also believed there was a route West to the Spice Islands. Manuel had
refused Magellan so they went to Spain to ask King Charles I to help them
instead. Magellan and Faleiro gave up their Portuguese nationality and
became Spaniards. They had asked the king many times, telling him that
they could prove that the Spice Islands were in the Spanish hemisphere
according to the Treaty of Tordesillas. On 22 March 1518 the king finally
agreed to help them. In 1517 Magellan had married Beatrix Barbosa and they
had had a son called Rodrigo and soon he would have to leave them behind.
Getting Ready To Sail
The king gave Magellan 5 ships. They were called the Trinidad, San
Antonio, Santiago, Concepcion and Victoria. It took over a year to get
ready to sail. Magellan had employed many Portuguese sailors and the
Spanish became very suspicious. The king forced Magellan to take Spanish
sailors instead.
A
drawing of preparations to sail by Mark Telford..
The Voyage Begins
On 20 September 1519, Magellan set sail from Sanlucar de Barrameda in
Southern Spain. Unfortunately Faleiro could not sail because he went mad.
The Following Part Of The Project Takes The Form Of An Imaginary
Extract From The Ship's Log of The Journey.
SHIP'S LOG:
The TRINIDAD: Captain Ferdinand Magellan
The Year of Our Lord 1519
20 September: Waved farewell to my wife
and baby son and set sail with 5 ships and my crew of 261 men. The crew
was made up from 9 different countries. We carry 20,000 small brass bells
as presents for the natives.
26 October: I arrested my Spanish captain
of the San Antonio because he disobeyed orders.
13 November: The crossing of the Atlantic
has been good apart from the Spanish crewmen being unhappy.
17 November: Landed in Brazil. Stopped to
get more food and water and had 2 weeks rest.
1 December: Sailed South looking for a
passage through to the Spice Islands.
The Year of Our Lord 1520
9 February: I discovered some natives who
were over 7 feet tall and we managed to capture 2 to take back to Spain.
15 February: Another false lead! This
passage turned out to be a large river, Rio de la Plata.
28 February: I am annoyed because I can
not find the passage through and the men continue to grumble.
31 March: I landed in San Julian and
stayed there for the winter while the weather was bad.
17 April: Disaster! There was a bad storm
which destroyed my ship the Santiago but the crew is safe.
Easter Day: A mutiny broke out! I had to
execute the leader.
24 August: Set sail again. I marooned 2
troublemakers on an island.
21 October: Hurrah! I discovered a likely
passage and we waved our flags and fired our guns to celebrate.
3 November: Another mutiny! This time on
board the San Antonio, our supply ship, and it has turned back.
28 November: At last, after 38 days my 3
ships have sailed into a beautiful and peaceful ocean and I have called it
the Pacific Ocean. I cried with Joy.
The Year of Our Lord 1521.
6 February: 69 days and still no sight of
land. My food has run out and we are now eating rats, ox hides and
sawdust. The water is yellow and stinking. The men all have scurvy and are
all weak and exhausted.
6 March:
After 99 days my ships have reached an island called Guam. Sadly 19 men
have died including our 2 giant natives.
7 March: Unfriendly natives! The natives
stole a small boat and we burned their village and killed 6 men in the
fight to get it back. We managed to get enough food to carry on the voyage
but are unable to stay and rest.
17 March: I have reached the Philippines
and landed on Cebu. This means I am the FIRST person to sail all the way
around the world! We will rest here for a while. No one wants to go back
the way we came because it was too hard.
18 March: The natives are very friendly
and we have been looked after and given good food.
2 April: I have been teaching the natives
about Jesus and many are now Christians.
27 April: Disaster! Our brave leader
Magellan has been killed in a battle between natives on the island of
Mactan. I, Juan Sebastian del Cano, have taken over command of the
expedition from my ship the Victoria.
25 September: After a long rest we have
decided to continue our journey. We have abandoned the Concepcion because
there are only 110 crewmen left..
12 October: We set sail for the Spice
Islands.
6 November: Hurrah! We have reached the
Spice Islands. We loaded up with spices galore. We have heard that the
Portuguese fleet are trying to capture us.
12 November: We have decided to go
separate routes. The Trinidad has sailed east for Panama in the Americas
but we will sail west for Spain and hope to avoid the Portuguese ships
that are searching for us.
The Year of Our Lord 1522
6 September: After great hardship we have
arrived at Sanlucar de Barrameda with only 17 crewmen and myself. There
are great celebrations because we have CIRCUMNAVIGATED the world for the
FIRST time ever.
End of log.
Postscript
The Trinidad tried to cross the Pacific but had to turn back.
The crew was captured and jailed by the Portuguese. Sadly the Spanish did
not appreciate what Magellan had done and there were many stories of his
cruelty and errors in navigation. The Portuguese knew him only as a
traitor.
Bibliography
- Britannia Encyclopedia
- World Encyclopedia
- Microsoft Encarta 95 Encyclopedia
- Ferdinand Magellan by Alan Blackwood
- 1995 Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia
- Explorers questions and Answers
- The Royal Geographical Society History of World Exploration
This page has been visited 
times
since 19 October 2002.
