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- Date sent: Tue, 09 Apr 1996 03:23:59 +0000
- Subject: magellan essay
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- Ferdinand Magellan
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- Who was the first explorer to circumnavigate the globe and cross the Pacific Ocean?
- Ferdinand Magellan did it on his famous voyage in search of a westward route to the
- Moluccas (now Melaka). This is one of the greatest Portuguese explorers to ever sail the
- ocean. Ferdinand Magellan was born in about 1480 in Sabrosa of a noble family, and he
- spent his years as a court page. He ran errands and helped out with general chores but he
- was still looking for something more. He wanted to see the world and find out what there
- was to explore. In 1506 he went to the East Indies, participating in many military and
- exploratory expeditions in Malacca and the Moluccas, know as the Spice Islands, and by 1510
- he had been promoted to the rank of captain. He returned to Portugal in 1512 and in 1513
- was stationed in Morocco, where he got wounds that maimed him for life. He requested an
- increase in his royal allowance but was rejected by Emanuel, king of Portugal, who didn't
- agree with Magellan's plan to find a westward route to the Moluccas. This made Magellan
- renounce his Portuguese nationality. In 1517 he offered his services to the king of Spain,
- Charles I (later Holy Roman Emperor Charles V). With his good salesmanship skills,
- Magellan convinced Charles to fund the expedition to find a westward route to the Moluccas.
- If Magellan could reach the Moluccas from the West, Spain's wealth would surpass all other
- countries. On September 20,1519 Magellan started his great journey to the Moluccas from
- Sanlucar de Barrameda with five ships. In November of that year he reached South America.
- In February 1520 he explored the Rio de la Plata estuary, and on March 31, 1520 his fleet
- put in to port at San Julian. His fleet remained there for six months because of disease
- and complications. One ship was wrecked causing a mutiny. After the mutiny had been
- settled, Magellan sailed the passage to the Pacific Ocean named after him, the Strait of
- Magellan, losing another ship by desertion, en route. After 38 days and traveling 330
- miles, on November 28, 1520, his three great ships sailed into the ocean, which Magellan
- named "Pacific" because it was so calm. He reached the Marianas, or Ladrone, Islands on
- March 6, 1521, and ten days later he discovered the Phillipines. He landed on the island
- of Cebu on April 7. There he made an alliance with the ruler of the island and agreed to
- help him attack the neighboring natives on the island of Mactan. Magellan was killed on
- April 27, 1521 during the Mactan expedition. What happens to the crew now that their leader
- is dead? A young Spanish navigator named Juan Sebastian del Cano takes over. Meanwhile
- two ships escaped and the other one was burned. The last ship, Victoria, was commanded by
- del Cano through the Cape of Good Hope route to Seville on September 6,1522. Although
- Magellan did not live to make the journey home he did circumnavigate the globe by passing
- the easternmost point he had visited on an earlier voyage. The cargo of spices brought
- back to Spain on the Victoria alone paid for the expenses of the Expedition. The passage
- through the Strait of Magellan was too long and difficult to be a practical trade route
- from Europe to the Moluccas, however, and Spain sold her interests there to Portugal. The
- voyage laid a foundation for trade in the Pacific between the New World and the East.
- Though Spain did not recognize the importance of the Phillipines immediately, before the
- end of the century, Manila became the greatest Spanish trading center in the East.
- Ferdinand Magellan proved to the world and all those who rejected his ideas that one could
- circumnavigate the world. His discoveries and passages opened new doors to a larger world.
- He will always be remembered as the first man who sailed around the world.
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- NAME:MAGELLAN.TXT
- UPLOADER: RYAN FLIGG
- LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
- E-MAIL:NSJJ17A@PRODIGY.COM
- SUBJECT: EARLY MODERM EUROPE
- TITLE: FERDINAND MAGELLAN
- SYSTEM:HIGH SCHOOL (IOWA)
- GRADE:94%
- AGE: 16
- COUNTRY: UNITED STATES
- COMMENTS: A FACT FILLED REPORT THAT WILL FIT A GOOD PAGE REQIUREMENT WHEN DOUBLE SPACED.
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