Ferdinand Magellan World Explorer

Ferdinand Magellan Ferdinand Magellan (1480-1521) was a Portuguese explorer who led the first expedition that sailed around the Earth (1519-1522). Magellan also named the Pacific Ocean. The name means a calm, peaceful ocean.

Early Life Magellan was born in Northern Portugal. His parents were members of the nobility. They were wealthy and powerful.

Early Life Early in his career, Magellan sailed to India and to the Far East many times around Africa's Cape of Good Hope. He sailed for his native Portugal, but a dispute with the Portuguese King Manoel II turned him against the Portuguese. Thereafter, he sailed for Spain.

A New Route to Asia Magellan proposed to King Charles V of Spain that a westward voyage around the tip of South America would take them to Asia. The voyage began September 8, 1519. Magellan sailed from Seville, Spain, with five ships, the Trinidad, San Antonio, Concepcion, Victoria, and Santiago.

A Long Journey For months Magellan sailed up rivers into the middle of South America looking for a quick route to the Pacific. Each time he failed to find a water route. In the fall of 1520, three of Magellan’s ships sailed through what is now called the Strait of Magellan, near the tip of South America.

A Difficult Journey After crossing the Strait of Magellan, the ships sailed across the Pacific. As the months passed, their food spoiled. They ate biscuits crawling with worms, and drank yellow water. They ate rats, sawdust, and leather.

A Difficult Journey Many sailors died of hunger. Others died of scury, a sickness caused by not getting enough vitamin C, which is found in fruits and vegetables. Dead sailors were tossed in the ocean. Sharks followed the ships.

Land Spotted In March 1521 the ships reached the Philippine Islands. Magellan and his remaining crew stayed in the Philippines for several weeks. Magellan was killed towards the end of the voyage in the Philippines, during a battle with the natives.

A Proven Theory Three years later in Sept. 1522, only one ship - the Victoria - made it back to Spain, carrying only 18 of the original 270 crew members. What Columbus believed was finally proven true. Europeans could reach Asia by sailing west but first they had to go around the Americas.