 NaoVictoria, the only ship in the fleet to complete the circumnavigation. Detail from a map byAbraham Ortelius, 1590. | |
| Country | Spain |
|---|---|
| Leader |
|
| Start | Sanlúcar de Barrameda 20 September 1519; 506 years ago (1519-09-20) |
| End | Sanlúcar de Barrameda 6 September 1522; 503 years ago (1522-09-06) |
| Goal | Find a western maritime route to theSpice Islands |
| Ships |
|
| Crew | Approx. 270 |
| Survivors |
|
| Achievements |
|
| Route | |
 Route taken by the expedition, with milestones marked | |
TheMagellan expedition, sometimes termed theMagellan–Elcano expedition, was a 16th-centurySpanish expedition planned and led byPortuguese explorerFerdinand Magellan. Its purpose was to secure a maritimetrade route with theMoluccas, or Spice Islands, in present-dayIndonesia.[2][3][4] The expedition departed Spain in 1519 and returned there in 1522 under the command of the Spanish navigatorJuan Sebastián Elcano, who completed the voyage afterMagellan's death in thePhilippines.[4] One of the most significant voyages in theAge of Discovery, the nearly three-year expedition totaled 60,440 km (37,560 mi)[5] and achieved the firstcircumnavigation of Earth in history.[3] It also marked the firstcrossing of the Pacific by a European expedition,[6] revealing the vast scale of that ocean, and proved that ships could sail around the world on a western sea route.[4][7]
The five-ship fleet left Spain on 20 September 1519[3] with about 270 men. After crossing the Atlantic Ocean, the ships continued south along the eastern coast ofSouth America. Entering theStrait of Magellan on 1 November 1520,[8] the fleet passed through to the Pacific Ocean, which Magellan himself namedMar Pacifico.[4][3][9] The fleet crossed the Pacific in 98 days,[4] stopped inGuam and the Philippines, and successfully reached the Moluccas in November 1521. A much-depleted crew led by Elcano finally returned to Spain on 6 September 1522,[3] having sailed west across theIndian Ocean, around theCape of Good Hope through waters controlled by the Portuguese, and north along the west African coast to finally arrive in Spain.[4]
The expedition endured many hardships, including sabotage and mutinies by the mostly Spanish crew, including Elcano himself; starvation,scurvy, storms, and hostile encounters with indigenous people also beset the voyage. Only about 40 men and one ship—theVictoria—completed the circumnavigation,[n 2] and Magellan himself died in battle in the Philippines in April 1521. A series of officers succeeded him ascaptain-general, with Elcano eventually leading theVictoria's return trip through theIndian andAtlantic Oceans.
The expedition was funded mostly by KingCharles I of Spain, with the hope that it would discover a profitable western route to the Spice Islands, as the eastern route was controlled by Portugal under the 1494Treaty of Tordesillas. Although the expedition did find a route, it was much longer and more arduous than expected and was therefore not commercially useful. Nevertheless, the expedition is regarded as one of the greatest achievements in seamanship, and had a significant impact on the European understanding of the world.[10][11][4]
_Karel_V_-_Koninklijk_klooster_van_Brou_(cropped).jpg)
Christopher Columbus's voyages to the West (1492–1504) had the goal of reaching theIndies and establishing direct commercial relations between Spain and the Asian kingdoms. The Spanish soon realized that the lands of the Americas were not a part of Asia, but another continent. The 1494Treaty of Tordesillas reserved for Portugal the eastern routes that went around Africa, andVasco da Gama and the Portuguese arrived inIndia in 1498.
Given the economic importance of thespice trade, Spain urgently needed to find a new commercial route to Asia. After the Junta de Toro conference of 1505, theSpanish Crown commissioned expeditions to discover a route to the west. Spanish explorerVasco Núñez de Balboa reached the Pacific Ocean in 1513 after crossing theIsthmus of Panama, andJuan Díaz de Solís died inRío de la Plata in 1516 while exploring South America in the service of Spain.
Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese sailor with previous military experience in India,Malacca, and Morocco. A friend, and possible cousin, with whom Magellan sailed,Francisco Serrão, was part of the first expedition to theMoluccas, leaving from Malacca in 1511.[12] Serrão reached the Moluccas, going on to stay on the island ofTernate and take a wife.[13] Serrão sent letters to Magellan from Ternate, extolling the beauty and richness of theSpice Islands. These letters likely motivated Magellan to plan an expedition to the islands and would later be presented to Spanish officials when Magellan sought their sponsorship.[14]
Historians speculate that, beginning in 1514, Magellan repeatedly petitioned KingManuel I of Portugal to fund an expedition to the Moluccas, though records are unclear.[15] It is known that Manuel repeatedly denied Magellan's requests for a token increase to his pay, and that in late 1515 or early 1516, Manuel granted Magellan's request to be allowed to serve another master. Around this time, Magellan met thecosmographerRui Faleiro, another Portuguese subject nursing resentment towards Manuel.[16] The two men acted as partners in planning a voyage to the Moluccas which they would propose to the king of Spain. Magellan relocated to Seville, Spain in 1517, with Faleiro following two months later.
On arrival in Seville, Magellan contacted Juan de Aranda,factor of theCasa de Contratación. Following the arrival of his partner Rui Faleiro, and with the support of Aranda, they presented their project to the kingCharles I of Spain (future Holy Roman Emperor Charles V). Magellan's project, if successful, would realise Columbus' plan of a spice route by sailing west without damaging relations with the Portuguese. The idea was in tune with the times and had already been discussed after Balboa's discovery of the Pacific. On 22 March 1518, the king named Magellan and Faleiro captains general. He also raised them to the rank of Commander of theOrder of Santiago. They reached an agreement with King Charles which granted them, among other things:[17]
The expedition was funded largely by the Spanish Crown through theCasa de Contratación, which provided five ships and supplies for about two years of travel.[22] Because the royal treasury lacked liquidity, the Crown accepted private capital. Working through archbishopJuan Rodríguez de Fonseca and the Casa de Contratación, the Crown secured the participation of the Burgos merchantCristóbal de Haro, who invested about one fifth to one quarter of the budget and furnished goods to barter, with support drawn from networks of German banking houses including theFuggers and the Welsers.[23][24]
Expert cartographersJorge Reinel andDiego Ribero, a Portuguese who had started working for King Charles in 1518[25] as a cartographer at theCasa de Contratación, took part in the development of the maps to be used in the travel. Several problems arose during the preparation of the trip, including lack of money, the king of Portugal trying to stop them, Magellan and other Portuguese incurring suspicion from the Spanish, and the difficult nature of Faleiro.[26]
The fleet, consisting of five ships with supplies for two years of travel, was called theArmada del Maluco, orArmada de Molucca, after the Indonesian name for the Spice Islands.[27][3] The ships were mostly black, due to the tar covering most of their surface. The official accounting of the expedition put the cost at 8,751,125maravedis, including the ships, provisions, and salaries.[28]
Food was a hugely important part of the provisioning. It cost 1,252,909 maravedis, almost as much as the cost of the ships. Four-fifths of the food on the ship consisted of just two items – wine andhardtack.[29]
The fleet also carried flour and salted meat. Some of the ships' meat came in the form of livestock; the ship carried seven cows and three pigs. Cheese, almonds, mustard, and figs were also present.[30]Carne de membrillo,[31] made from preservedquince, was a delicacy enjoyed by captains which may have unknowingly aided in the prevention ofscurvy.[32]
The fleet initially consisted of five ships, withTrinidad being theflagship. All or most werecarracks (Spanish "carraca" or "nao"; Portuguese "nau").[n 3] TheVictoria was the only ship to complete the circumnavigation. Details of the ships' configuration are not known, as no contemporary illustrations exist of any of the ships.[35] The official accounting of theCasa de Contratación put the cost of the ships at 1,369,808maravedis, with another 1,346,781 spent on outfitting and transporting them.[36]
| Ship | Captain | Crew | Tonnage[n 4] (tonels) | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trinidad | Ferdinand Magellan | 62 then 61 after a stop-over in Tenerife[39] | 110 | DepartedSeville with other four ships 10 August 1519. Broke down inMoluccas, December 1521 |
| San Antonio | Juan de Cartagena | 55[40] | 120 | Deserted in theStrait of Magellan, November 1520,[41] returned to Spain on 6 May 1521[42] |
| Concepción | Gaspar de Quesada | 44 then 45 after a stop-over in Tenerife[43] | 90 | Scuttled in the Philippines, May 1521 |
| Santiago | João Serrão | 31 then 33 after a stop-over in Tenerife[44] | 75 | Wrecked in storm atSanta Cruz River, on 22 May 1520[45][46] |
| Victoria | Luis Mendoza | 45 then 46 after a stop-over in Tenerife[47] | 85 | Successfully completed circumnavigation, returning to Spain in September 1522, captained byJuan Sebastián Elcano. Mendoza was killed during a mutiny attempt. |
The crew consisted of about 270 men,[48] mostly Spaniards. Spanish authorities were wary of Magellan, so that they almost prevented him from sailing, switching his mostly Portuguese crew to mostly men of Spain. In the end, the fleet included about 40 Portuguese,[49] among them Magellan's brother-in-lawDuarte Barbosa,João Serrão,Estêvão Gomes and Magellan's indentured servantEnrique of Malacca. Crew members of other nations were also recorded, including 29 Italians, 17 French, and a smaller number of Flemish, German, Greek, Irish, English, Asian, and black sailors.[50] Counted among the Spanish crew members were at least 29Basques (including Juan Sebastián Elcano), some of whom did not speak Spanish fluently.[50]
Ruy Faleiro, who had initially been named co-captain with Magellan, developed mental health problems prior to departure (or, as other sources state, chose to remain behind after performing ahoroscope reading indicating that the voyage would be fatal for him[51]) and was removed from the expedition by the king. He was replaced as the fleet's joint commander byJuan de Cartagena and as cosmographer/astrologer byAndrés de San Martín.
Juan Sebastián Elcano, a Spanish merchant ship captain living in Seville, embarked seeking the king's pardon for previous misdeeds.Antonio Pigafetta, aVenetian scholar and traveller, asked to be on the voyage, accepting the title of "supernumerary" and a modest salary. He became a strict assistant of Magellan and kept a journal. The only other sailor to keep a running account during the voyage would be Francisco Albo, who kept a formal nautical logbook.Juan de Cartagena, suspected illegitimate son of archbishop Fonseca, was named Inspector General of the expedition, responsible for its financial and trading operations.[52]
On 10 August 1519, the five ships under Magellan's command left Seville and descended theGuadalquivir River toSanlúcar de Barrameda, at the mouth of the river. There they remained more than five weeks. Finally they set sail on 20 September 1519 and left Spain.[53]
On 26 September, the fleet stopped atTenerife in theCanary Islands, where they took in supplies (including vegetables andpitch, which were cheaper to acquire there than in continental Spain).[54] During the stop, Magellan received a secret message from his brother-in-law,Diogo Barbosa, warning him that some of the Castilian captains were planning a mutiny, withJuan de Cartagena (captain of theSan Antonio) being the ring-leader of the conspiracy.[55] He also learned that the King of Portugal had sent two fleets of caravels to arrest him.
On 3 October, the fleet departed the Canary Islands, sailing south along the coast of Africa. There was some disagreement over directions, with Cartagena arguing for a more westerly bearing.[56] Magellan made the unorthodox decision to follow the African coast in order to evade the Portuguese caravels which were pursuing him.[57]
Toward the end of October, as the Armada approached the equator, they experienced a series of storms, with such intense squalls that they were sometimes forced to strike their sails.[58] Pigafetta recorded the appearance ofSt. Elmo's fire during some of these storms, which was regarded as a good omen by the crew:
During these storms the body of St. Anselme appeared to us several times; amongst others, one night that it was very dark on account of the bad weather, the said saint appeared in the form of a fire lighted at the summit of the mainmast, and remained there near two hours and a half, which comforted us greatly, for we were in tears, only expecting the hour of perishing; and when that holy light was going away from us it gave out so great a brilliancy in the eyes of each, that we were near a quarter-of-an-hour like people blinded, and calling out for mercy. For without any doubt nobody hoped to escape from that storm.[59]
After two weeks of storms, the fleet spent some time stalled in calm, equatorial waters before being carried west by theSouth Equatorial Current to the vicinity of thetrade winds.
During the ocean crossing, theVictoria's Sicilian master, Salomon Antón was caught in an act ofsodomy with a Genoese apprentice sailor, António Varesa, off the coast ofGuinea.[60][61][59] At the time, sodomy was punishable by death in Spain, though in practice, sex between men was a common occurrence on long naval voyages.[62] Magellan held a trial on board theTrinidad and found Antón guilty, sentencing him to death by strangulation. Antón was later executed on 20 December 1519, after the fleet's landfall in Brazil at Santa Lucia (present-dayRio de Janeiro), his strangled body being burnt.[60][59] Varesa drowned after going overboard on 27 April 1520, having been thrown off by his shipmates.[63][60][64]
In a meeting following the trial, Magellan's captains challenged his leadership. Cartagena accused Magellan of risking the King's ships by his choice of route, sailing South along the African coast. When Cartagena declared that he would no longer follow Magellan's command, Magellan gave the signal for a number of armed loyalists to enter the room and take hold of Cartagena. Magellan called Cartagena a "rebel" and branded his behaviour as mutinous. Cartagena called on the other two Castilian captains (Quesada and Mendoza) to stab Magellan, but they held back.
Immediately following the episode, Cartagena was placed instocks. Magellan could have tried Cartagena for mutiny and sentenced him to death, but at the urging of Quesada and Mendoza, he agreed to merely relieve Cartagena of his command of theSan Antonio and allow him to move freely within the confines of theVictoria. Antonio de Coca replaced Cartagena as captain of theSan Antonio.[65]
Some details about the sodomy trial and its aftermath are disputed. Salomon Antón's name is also given in some sources asAntonio Salamón,Antonio Salamone, andAntonio Salomón, with his job being alternatively listed as boatswain and quartermaster.[59][63][66] António Varesa's name is also given asAntonio Ginovés, with his job also being listed as cabin boy, "ship's boy", or "grummet."[63][66][60] Varesa's death is also sometimes described as a suicide from being ridiculed or that he too was outright sentenced to death during the trial.[59][67] The date of the trial is also given as September.[67]
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On 29 November, the fleet reached the approximate latitude ofCape Saint Augustine.[68] The coastline of Brazil (which Pigafetta refers to asVerzin in his diary, after the Italian term forbrazilwood[69]) had been known to the Spanish and Portuguese since about 1500, and in the intervening decades, European powers (particularly Portugal) had been sending ships to Brazil to collect valuable brazilwood. The Armada carried a map of the Brazilian coastline, theLivro da Marinharia (the "Book of Seamanship"), and also had a crew member, theConcepción's pilot, João Lopes Carvalho, who had previously visitedRio de Janeiro. Carvalho was enlisted to lead the fleet's navigation down the Brazilian coastline to Rio, aboard theTrinidad, and also helped communicate with the locals, as he had some rudimentary knowledge of theirGuarani language.[70]
On 13 December, the fleet reached Rio de Janeiro. Though nominally Portuguese territory, they maintained no permanent settlement there at the time. Seeing no Portuguese ships in the harbour, Magellan knew it would be safe to stop.[71] Pigafetta wrote of a coincidence of weather that caused the armada to be warmly received by the indigenous people:
It is to be known that it happened that it had not rained for two months before we came there, and the day that we arrived it began to rain, on which account the people of the said place said that we came from heaven, and had brought the rain with us, which was great simplicity, and these people were easily converted to the Christian faith.[59]
The fleet spent 13 days in Rio, during which they repaired their ships, stocked up on water and food (such as yam, cassava, and pineapple), and interacted with the locals. The expedition had brought with them a great quantity of trinkets intended for trade, such as mirrors, combs, knives and bells. The locals readily exchanged food and local goods (such as parrot feathers) for such items. The crew also found they could purchase sexual favours from the local women. Historian Ian Cameron described the crew's time in Rio as "asaturnalia of feasting and lovemaking."[72]
On 27 December, the fleet left Rio de Janeiro. Pigafetta wrote that the natives were disappointed to see them leave, and that some followed them in canoes trying to entice them to stay.[73] Just before sailing, Magellan replaced Antonio de Coca, the fleet accountant who had briefly assumed command of San Antonio from Cartagena, with the inexperienced Álvaro de Mezquita who originally had shipped out aboard the flagship from Seville as a mere supernumerary.[74]
The fleet sailed south along the South American coast, hoping to reachel paso, the fabledstrait that would allow them passage past South America to the Spice Islands. On 11 January[n 5], aheadland marked by three hills was sighted, which the crew believed to be "Cape Santa Maria." Around the headland, they found a wide body of water that extended as far as the eye could see in a west-by-southwest direction. Magellan believed he had foundel paso, though in fact he had reached theRío de la Plata. Magellan directed theSantiago, commanded byJuan Serrano, to probe the 'strait', and led the other ships south hoping to findTerra Australis, the southern continent which was then widely supposed to exist south of South America. They failed to find the southern continent, and when they regrouped with theSantiago a few days later, Serrano reported that the hoped-for strait was in fact the mouth of a river. Incredulous, Magellan led the fleet through the western waters again, taking frequentsoundings. Serrano's claim was confirmed when the men eventually found themselves infresh water.[73]
There are several theories about the name ofMontevideo Hill, which was sighted by a seaman from this expedition.[75]
On 3 February, the fleet continued south along the South American coast.[76] Magellan believed they would find a strait (or the southern terminus of the continent) within a short distance.[77] In fact, the fleet would sail south for another eight weeks without finding passage, before stopping to overwinter atSt. Julian.
Not wanting to miss the strait, the fleet sailed as close to the coast as feasible, heightening the danger of running aground onshoals. The ships sailed only during the day, with lookouts carefully watching the coast for signs of a passage. In addition to the hazards of shallow waters, the fleet encounteredsqualls, storms, and dropping temperatures as they continued south and winter set in.
By the third week of March, weather conditions had become so desperate that Magellan decided they should find a safe harbour in which to wait out the winter before resuming the search for a passage in spring. On 31 March 1520, a break in the coast was spotted. There, the fleet found a natural harbour which they calledPort St. Julian.[78]
The men remained at St. Julian for five months, before resuming their search for the strait.
Within a day of landing at St. Julian, there was another mutiny attempt. Like the one during the Atlantic crossing, it was led byJuan de Cartagena (former captain of theSan Antonio), aided byGaspar de Quesada andLuis Mendoza, captains of theConcepción andVictoria, respectively. As before, the Castilian captains questioned Magellan's leadership and accused him of recklessly endangering the fleet's crew and ships.
The mutiny at St. Julian was more calculated than thefracas that had followed the sodomy trial during the Atlantic crossing. Around midnight of Easter Sunday, 1 April, Cartagena and Quesada covertly led thirty armed men, their faces covered withcharcoal, aboard theSan Antonio, where they ambushed Álvaro de Mezquita, the recently named captain of the ship. Mezquita was Magellan's cousin and sympathetic to the captain general. Juan de Elorriaga, the ship's master, resisted the mutineers and attempted to alert the other ships. For this reason, Quesada stabbed him repeatedly (he would die from his wounds months later).[79]
With theSan Antonio subdued, the mutineers controlled three of the fleet's five ships. Only theSantiago (commanded byJuan Serrano) remained loyal to Magellan, along with the flag ship, theTrinidad, which Magellan commanded. The mutineers aimed theSan Antonio's cannon at theTrinidad but made no further overtures during the night.
The following morning (2 April), while the mutineers attempted to consolidate their forces aboard theSan Antonio and theVictoria, a longboat of sailors drifted off course into the vicinity of theTrinidad. The men were brought aboard and persuaded to divulge the details of the mutineers' plans to Magellan.
Magellan subsequently launched a counteroffensive against the mutineers aboard theVictoria. He had some marines from theTrinidad switch clothing with the stray sailors and approach theVictoria in their longboat. Hisalguacil, Gonzalo de Espinosa, also approached theVictoria in askiff and announced that he had a message for the captain, Luis Mendoza. Espinosa was allowed aboard, and into the captain's chambers, based on his claim that he had a confidential letter. There, Espinosa stabbed Mendoza in the throat with hispoignard, killing him instantly. At the same time, the disguised marines came aboard theVictoria to support thealguacil.[80]
With theVictoria lost and Mendoza dead, the remaining mutineers realised they were outmanoeuvred. Quesada attempted to flee but was prevented from doing so – sailors loyal to Magellan had cut theConcepción's cables, causing it to drift toward theTrinidad, and Quesada was captured. Cartagena conceded and begged Magellan for mercy.[81]
The trial of the mutineers was headed by Magellan's cousin Álvaro de Mezquita and lasted five days. On 7 April, Quesada was beheaded by his foster-brother and secretary, Luis Molina, who acted as executioner in exchange for clemency. The bodies of Quesada and Mendoza weredrawn and quartered and displayed ongibbets for the following three months. San Martín, suspected of involvement in the conspiracy, was tortured bystrappado, but afterwards was allowed to continue his service as cosmographer.[82] Cartagena, along with a priest, Pedro Sanchez de Reina, were sentenced to bemarooned.[83] On 11 August, two weeks before the fleet left St. Julian, the two were taken to a small nearby island and left to die.[84] Days later, the pilot of the ship San Antonio, Esteban Gómez, shot down its captain, Álvaro de Mezquita, Magellan's cousin, abandoning Magellan's expedition to return to Spain. He returned for Juan de Cartagena and Pedro Sánchez de la Reina, but found no trace of them. More than forty[85] other conspirators, including Juan Sebastián Elcano,[86] were put in chains for much of the winter and made to perform the hard work ofcareening the ships, repairing their structure and scrubbing thebilge.[87]
In late April, Magellan dispatched theSantiago, captained byJuan Serrano, from St. Julian to scout to the south for a strait. On 3 May, they reached the estuary of a river which Serrano named theSanta Cruz.[88] The estuary provided shelter and was well situated with natural resources including fish, penguins, and wood.[89]
After more than a week exploring Santa Cruz, Serrano set out to return to St. Julian on 22 May, but was caught in a sudden storm while leaving the harbour.[45][46] TheSantiago was tossed about by strong winds and currents beforerunning aground on a sandbar. All (or nearly all[n 6]) of the crew were able to clamber ashore before the shipcapsized. Two men volunteered to set off on foot for St. Julian to get help. After 11 days of hard trekking, the men arrived at St. Julian, exhausted and emaciated. Magellan sent a rescue party of 24 men over land to Santa Cruz.
The other 35 survivors from theSantiago remained at Santa Cruz for two weeks. They were unable to retrieve any supplies from the wreck of theSantiago, but managed to build huts and fire, and subsist on a diet of shellfish and local vegetation. The rescue party found them all alive but exhausted, and they returned to St. Julian safely.[90]
After learning of the favourable conditions that Serrano found at Santa Cruz, Magellan decided to move the fleet there for the rest of the austral winter. After almost five months at St. Julian, the fleet left for Santa Cruz around 24 August. They spent six weeks at Santa Cruz before resuming their search for the strait.[91]
On 18 October, the fleet left Santa Cruz heading south, resuming their search for a passage. Soon after, on 21 October 1520, they spotted a headland at 52°S latitude which they namedCape Virgenes. Past the cape, they found a large bay. While they were exploring the bay, a storm erupted. TheTrinidad andVictoria made it out to open seas, but theConcepción andSan Antonio were driven deeper into the bay, toward apromontory. Three days later, the fleet was reunited, and theConcepción andSan Antonio reported that the storm drew them through a narrow passage, not visible from sea, which continued for some distance. Hoping they had finally found their sought-after strait, the fleet retraced the path taken by theConcepción andSan Antonio. Unlike at Río de la Plata earlier, the water did not lose its salinity as they progressed, and soundings indicated that the waters were consistently deep. This was the passage they sought, which would come to be known as theStrait of Magellan. At the time, Magellan referred to it as theEstrecho (Canal) de Todos los Santos ("All Saints' Channel") because the fleet travelled through it on 1 November orAll Saints' Day.
On 28 October, the fleet reached an island in the strait (likelyIsabel Island orDawson Island), which could be passed in one of two directions. Magellan directed the fleet to split up to explore the respective paths. They were meant to regroup within a few days, but theSan Antonio would never rejoin the fleet.[92] While the rest of the fleet waited for the return of theSan Antonio, Gonzalo de Espinosa led a small ship to explore the further reaches of the strait. After three days of sailing, they reached the end of the strait and the mouth of the Pacific Ocean. After another three days, Espinosa returned. Pigafetta writes that, on hearing the news of Espinosa's discovery, Magellan wept tears of joy.[93] The fleet's remaining three ships completed the journey to the Pacific by 28 November after weeks of fruitlessly searching for theSan Antonio.[94] Magellan named the waters theMar Pacifico, or Pacific Ocean, because of how still and peaceful the sea was, especially compared with the straits.[95][9]
TheSan Antonio failed to rejoin the rest of Magellan's fleet in the strait. At some point, they reversed course and sailed back to Spain. The ship's officers later testified that they had arrived early at the appointed rendezvous location, but it is not clear whether this is true.[96] The captain of theSan Antonio at the time, Álvaro de Mezquita, was Magellan's cousin and loyal to the captain-general. He directed attempts to rejoin the fleet, firing cannons and setting off smoke signals. At some point he was overpowered in yet another mutiny attempt, this one successful. He was stabbed by the pilot of theSan Antonio,Estêvão Gomes, and put in chains for the remainder of the journey.[97] Gomes was known to have feelings of animosity towards Magellan (as documented by Pigafetta, who wrote that "Gomes... hated the Captain General exceedingly", because he had hoped to have his own expedition to the Moluccas funded instead of Magellan's[98]), and shortly before the fleet was separated, had argued with him about their next course of action. While Magellan and the other officers agreed to continue west to the Moluccas, thinking that their 2–3 months of rations would be sufficient for the journey, Gomes argued that they should return to Spain the way they had come, to muster more supplies for another journey through the strait.[99]
TheSan Antonio reached Seville approximately six months later, on 6 (or 8[100]) May 1521, with 55 survivors. There ensued a trial of the ship's men which lasted six months. With Mezquita being the only one loyal to Magellan, the majority of testimony produced a villainous and distorted picture of Magellan's actions. In particular, in justifying the mutiny at St. Julian, the men claimed that Magellan had tortured Spanish seamen (during the return journey across the Atlantic, Mezquita was tortured into signing a statement to this effect) and claimed that they were merely trying to make Magellan follow the king's orders. Ultimately, none of the mutineers faced charges in Spain. Magellan's reputation suffered as a result, as did his friends and family. Mezquita was kept in jail for a year following the trial, and Magellan's wife, Beatriz, had her financial resources cut off and was placed under house arrest along with their son.[101]
Magellan (along with contemporary geographers) had no conception of the vastness of the Pacific Ocean. He imagined that South America was separated from the Spice Islands by a small sea, which he expected to cross in as little as three or four days.[102] In fact, they spent three months and twenty days at sea, before reachingGuam and then the Philippines.
The fleet entered the Pacific from the Strait of Magellan on 28 November 1520 and initially sailed north, following the coast ofChile. By mid-December, they altered their course to west-north-west.[103] They were unfortunate in that, had their course differed slightly, they might have encountered a number of Pacific islands which would have offered fresh food and water, such as theMarshall Islands, theSociety Islands, theSolomon Islands or theMarquesas Islands. As it was, they encountered only two small uninhabited islands during the crossing, at which they were unable to land, the reason why they named themIslas Infortunadas. The first, sighted 24 January, they namedSan Pablo (Saint Paul in Spanish) – likelyPuka-Puka.[104] The second, sighted 21 February, they namedTiburones (Sharks in Spanish) – likelyCaroline Island[105] orFlint Island.[106] They crossed the equator on 13 February.
Not expecting such a long journey, the ships were not stocked with adequate food and water, and much of the seal meat they had stocked putrefied in the equatorial heat. Pigafetta described the desperate conditions in his journal:
we only ate old biscuit reduced to powder, and full of grubs, and stinking from the dirt which the rats had made on it when eating the good biscuit, and we drank water that was yellow and stinking. We also ate the ox hides which were under the main-yard, so that the yard should not break the rigging: they were very hard on account of the sun, rain, and wind, and we left them for four or five days in the sea, and then we put them a little on the embers, and so ate them; also the sawdust of wood, and rats which cost half-a-crown each, moreover enough of them were not to be got.[59]
Moreover, most of the men suffered from symptoms ofscurvy, whose cause was not understood at the time. Pigafetta reported that, of the 166 men[107][108][need quotation to verify] who embarked on the Pacific crossing, 19 died and "twenty-five or thirty fell ill of diverse sicknesses."[59] Magellan, Pigafetta, and other officers were not afflicted with scorbutic symptoms, which may have been because they ate preservedquince which (unbeknownst to them) contained thevitamin C necessary to protect against scurvy.[109]
On 6 March 1521, the fleet reached theMariana Islands. The first land they spotted was likely the island ofRota, but the ships were unable to land there. Instead, they dropped anchor thirty hours later onGuam, where they were met by nativeChamorro people inproas, a type ofoutrigger canoe then unknown to Europeans. Dozens of Chamorros came aboard and began taking items from the ship, including rigging, knives, and any items made of iron. At some point, there was a physical confrontation between the crew and the natives, and at least one Chamorro was killed. The remaining natives fled with the goods they had obtained, also taking Magellan'sbergantina (theship's boat kept on theTrinidad) as they retreated.[110][111] For this act, Magellan called the islandIsla de los Ladrones (Island of Thieves).[112]
The next day, Magellan retaliated, sending a raiding party ashore which looted and burned forty or fifty Chamorro houses and killed seven men.[113] They recovered the bergantina and left Guam the next day, 9 March, continuing westward.[114]
The fleet reached the Philippines on 16 March, and remained there until 1 May. The expedition represented the first documented European contact with the Philippines.[1] Although the stated goals of Magellan's expedition were to find a passage through South America to the Moluccas and return to Spain laden with spices, at this point in the journey, Magellan seemed to acquire a zeal for converting the local tribes to Christianity. In doing so, Magellan eventually became embroiled in a local political dispute, and died in the Philippines, along with dozens of other officers and crew.
On 16 March, a week after leaving Guam, the fleet first sighted the island ofSamar, then landed on the island ofHomonhon, which was then uninhabited. They encountered friendly locals from the nearby island ofSuluan and traded supplies with them. They spent nearly two weeks on Homonhon, resting and gathering fresh food and water, before leaving on 27 March.[115] On the morning of 28 March, they neared the island ofLimasawa and encountered some natives in canoes who then alertedbalangay warships of two local rulers fromMindanao who were on a hunting expedition in Limasawa. For the first time on the journey, Magellan's slaveEnrique of Malacca found that he was able to communicate with the natives inMalay (an indication that they had indeed completed a circumnavigation, and were approaching familiar lands).[115] They exchanged gifts with the natives (receiving porcelain jars painted with Chinese designs), and later that day, Magellan was introduced to their leaders, Rajah Kolambu[n 7] and Rajah Siawi. Afterwards, Magellan would become a "blood brother" to Kolambu, undergoing the localblood compact ritual with him.[116]
Magellan and his men noted that the Rajahs had golden body ornaments and served food on golden plates. They were told by the Rajahs that gold was plentiful in their homelands inButuan and Calagan (Surigao), and found that the locals were eager to trade it for iron at par. While at Limasawa, Magellan gave some of the natives a demonstration of Spanish armour, weapons, and artillery, by which they were apparently impressed.[117]
On Sunday, 31 March,Easter Day, Magellan and fifty of his men came ashore to Limasawa to participate in the first CatholicMass in the Philippines, given by the armada's chaplain. Kolambu, his brother (who was also a local leader), and other islanders joined in the ceremony and expressed an interest in their religion. Following Mass, Magellan's men raised across on the highest hill on the island, and formally declared the island, and the entire archipelago of the Philippines (which he called the Islands ofSt Lazarus) as a possession of Spain.[118]
On 2 April, Magellan held a conference to decide the fleet's next course of action. His officers urged him to head south-west for the Mollucas, but instead he decided to press further into the Philippines. On 3 April, the fleet sailed north-west from Limasawa towards the island ofCebu, which Magellan learned of from Kolambu. The fleet was guided to Cebu by some of Kolambu's men.[119] They sighted Cebu 6 April, and made landfall the next day. Cebu had regular contact with Chinese and Arab traders and normally required that visitors paytribute in order to trade. Magellan convinced the island's leader,Rajah Humabon, to waive this requirement.
As he had in Limasawa, Magellan gave a demonstration of the fleet's arms in order to impress the locals. Again, he also preached Christianity to the natives, and on 14 April, Humabon and his family werebaptised and given an image of theHoly Child (later known asSanto Niño de Cebu). In the coming days, other local chieftains were baptised, and in total, 2,200 locals from Cebu and other nearby islands were converted.[120]
When Magellan learned that a group on the island ofMactan, led byLapu-Lapu, resisted Christian conversion, he ordered his men to burn their homes. When they continued to resist, Magellan informed his council on 26 April that he would bring an armed contingent to Mactan and make them submit under threat of force.[121]
Magellan mustered a force of 60 armed men from his crew to oppose Lapu-Lapu's forces. Some Cebuano men followed Magellan to Mactan, but were instructed by Magellan not to join the fight, but merely to watch.[122] He first sent an envoy toLapu-Lapu, offering him a last chance to accept the king of Spain as their ruler and avoid bloodshed. Lapu-Lapu refused. Magellan took 49 men to the shore while 11 remained to guard the boats. Though they had the benefit of relatively advanced armour and weaponry, Magellan's forces were greatly outnumbered. Pigafetta (who was present on the battlefield) estimated the enemy's number at 1,500.[123] Magellan's forces were driven back and decisively defeated. Magellan died in battle, along with several comrades, including Cristóvão Rebelo, Magellan's illegitimate son.[124]
Following Magellan's death, the remaining men held an election to select a new leader for the expedition. They selected two co-commanders: Duarte Barbosa, Magellan's brother-in-law, and Juan Serrano. Magellan's will called for the liberation of his slave,Enrique, but Barbosa and Serrano demanded that he continue his duties as an interpreter for them, and follow their orders. Enrique had some secret communication with Humabon which caused him to betray the Spaniards.[125]
On 1 May, Humabon invited the men ashore for a great feast. It was attended by around thirty men, mostly officers, including Serrano and Barbosa. Towards the end of the meal, armed Cebuanos entered the hall and murdered the Europeans. Twenty-seven men were killed. Juan Serrano, one of the newly elected co-commanders, was left alive and brought to the shore facing the Spanish ships. Serrano begged the men on board to pay a ransom to the Cebuanos. The Spanish ships left port, and Serrano was (presumably) killed. In his account, Pigafetta speculates that João Carvalho, who became first in command in the absence of Barbosa and Serrano, abandoned Serrano (his one-time friend) so that he could remain in command of the fleet.[126]
With just 115 surviving men, out of the 277 who had sailed from Seville, it was decided the fleet did not have enough men to continue operating three ships. On 2 May, theConcepción was emptied and set on fire.[126] With Carvalho as the new captain-general, the remaining two ships, theTrinidad andVictoria, spent the next six months meandering through Southeast Asia in search of the Moluccas. On the way, they stopped at several islands includingPalawan andBrunei. During this time, they engaged in acts ofpiracy, including robbing ajunk bound for China from the Moluccas.[127]
On 21 September, Carvalho was made to step down as captain-general. He was replaced by Martin Mendez, with Gonzalo de Espinosa and Juan Sebastián Elcano as captains of theTrinidad andVictoria, respectively.
Aganduru Moriz' account of the expedition[128] describes how Elcano's crew was attacked somewhere off the southeastern tip of Borneo by a Bruneian fleet commanded by one of the Luzones. Historians such as William Henry Scott and Luis Camara Dery assert that this commander of the Bruneian Fleet was actually the young prince Ache of Maynila (Manila) a grandson of the Bruneian sultan who would later become Maynila'sRajah Matanda.[128][129]
Elcano, however, was able to defeat and capture Ache.[128] According to Scott, Ache was eventually released after a ransom was paid.[130] Nevertheless, Ache left a Spanish speaking Moor in Elcano's crew to assist the ship on the way back to Spain, "a Moor who understood something of our Castilian language, who was called Pazeculan."[131] This knowledge of the Spanish language was scattered across the Indian Ocean and even into Southeast Asia after the Castilian conquest of theEmirate of Granada forced the Spanish speaking Granadan Muslims to migrate across the Muslim world even as far as Islamic Manila.[132]
The ships finally reached the Moluccas on 8 November, when they reached the island ofTidore. They were greeted by the island's leader,al-Mansur (known to the officers by the Spanish nameAlmanzor).[133] Almanzor was a friendly host to the men, and readily claimed loyalty to the king of Spain. A trading post was established in Tidore and the men set about purchasing massive quantities ofcloves in exchange for goods such as cloth, knives, and glassware.[134]
Around 15 December, the ships attempted to set sail from Tidore, laden with cloves. But theTrinidad, which had fallen into disrepair, was found to be taking on water. The departure was postponed while the men, aided by the locals, attempted to find and repair the leak. When these attempts were unsuccessful, it was decided that theVictoria would leave for Spain via a western route, and that theTrinidad would remain behind for some time to be refitted, before heading back to Spain by an eastern route, involving an overland passage across the American continent in the area of theIsthmus of Panama.[135] Several weeks later,Trinidad departed and attempted to return to Spain via thePacific route. This attempt failed.Trinidad was captured by the Portuguese, and was eventually wrecked in a storm while at anchor under Portuguese control.[136]
TheVictoria set sail via the Indian Ocean route home on 21 December 1521, commanded by Juan Sebastián Elcano. By 6 May 1522 theVictoria rounded theCape of Good Hope, with only rice for rations. Twenty crewmen died of starvation by 9 July 1522, when Elcano put into PortugueseCape Verde for provisions. The crew wassurprised to learn that the date was actually 10 July 1522,[137] a day after their own meticulous records indicated. They had no trouble making purchases at first, using the cover story that they were returning to Spain from the Americas. However, the Portuguese detained 13 crew members after discovering thatVictoria was carrying spices from the East Indies.[66][138] TheVictoria managed to escape with its cargo of 26tons of spices (cloves andcinnamon).
On 6 September 1522, Elcano and the remaining crew of Magellan's voyage arrived inSanlúcar de Barrameda in Spain aboardVictoria, almost exactly three years after they departed. They then sailed upriver to Seville, and from there overland toValladolid, where they appeared before the Emperor.
WhenVictoria, the one surviving ship and the smallest carrack in the fleet, returned to the harbour of departure after completing the first circumnavigation of the Earth, only 18 men out of the original 270 were on board. In addition to the returning Europeans, theVictoria had aboard three Moluccans who came aboard at Tidore.[139]
| Name | Origin | Final rank |
|---|---|---|
| Juan Sebastián Elcano | Getaria | Captain |
| Francisco Albo | Chios | Pilot |
| Miguel de Rodas | Rhodes | Shipmaster |
| Juan de Acurio | Bermeo | Boatswain |
| Martín de Judicibus | Savona | Sailor |
| Hernándo de Bustamante | Mérida | Barber |
| Antonio Pigafetta | Vicenza | Man-At-Arms |
| Maestre Anes (Hans)[141] | Aachen | Gunner |
| Diego Gallego | Bayona | Sailor |
| Antonio Hernández Colmenero | Huelva | Sailor |
| Nícolas de Napolés | Nafplio | Sailor |
| Francisco Rodríguez | Sevilla | Sailor |
| Juan Rodríguez de Huelva | Huelva | Sailor |
| Miguel de Rodas | Rhodes | Sailor |
| Juan de Arratía | Bilbao | Shipboy |
| Juan de Santander (Sant Andrés) | Cueto | Shipboy |
| Vasco Gómez Gallego | Bayona | Shipboy |
| Juan de Zubileta | Barakaldo | Page |
King Charles pressed for the release of the 12 men held captive by the Portuguese in Cape Verde, and they were eventually returned to Spain in small groups over the course of the following year.[142] They were:
| Name | Origin | Final rank |
|---|---|---|
| Martín Méndez | Sevilla | Scrivener |
| Pedro de Tolosa | Tolosa | Sailor |
| Richard de Normandía | Normandy, France | Carpenter |
| Roldán de Argote | Bruges | Gunner |
| Felipe de Rodas | Rhodes | Sailor |
| Gómez Hernández | Huelva | Sailor |
| Ocacio Alonso | Bollullos | Sailor |
| Pedro de Chindurza | Galvey | Shipboy |
| Vasquito Gallego | Bayona | Shipboy |
| Juan Martín | Bayona | Man-At-Arms |
| Pedro de Tenerife | Tenerife | Man-At-Arms |
| Simon de Burgos | Burgos | Man-At-Arms |
Between 1525 and 1526, the survivors of theTrinidad, who had been captured by the Portuguese in the Moluccas, were transported to a prison in Portugal and eventually released after a seven-month negotiation. Only five survived:[144]
| Name | Origin | Final rank |
|---|---|---|
| Ginés de Mafra | Jerez | Sailor |
| Leone Pancaldo | Genoa | Sailor |
| Hans Varga (Hans Barge [de])[n 8] | Germany | Constable |
| Juan Rodríguez "El Sordo" | Sevilla | Sailor |
| Gonzalo Gómez de Espinosa | Burgos | Alguacil Mayor |
The following five nonsurvivors are considered to have successfully circumnavigated since they died after the Victoria and Trinidad had crossed the tracks of the outbound fleet.[144]
| Name | Origin | Final rank |
|---|---|---|
| Diego Garcia de Trigueros | Huelva | Sailor |
| Pedro de Valpuesta | Burgos | Man-At-Arms |
| Martín de Magallanes | Lisbon | Man-At-Arms |
| Estevan Villon | Trosic,Brittany | Sailor |
| Andrés Blanco | Tenerife | Shipboy |
Antonio Pigafetta's journal, later published asRelazione del primo viaggio intorno al mondo, is the main primary source for much of what is known about Magellan's expedition.[146] The first published report of the circumnavigation wasa letter written byMaximilianus Transylvanus, a relative of sponsorCristóbal de Haro, who interviewed survivors in 1522 and published his account in 1523 under the titleDe Moluccis Insulis....[145][147] Initially published in Latin, other editions later appeared in Italian, Spanish, and English.[145]
In addition, there is an extant chronicle fromPeter Martyr d'Anghiera, which was written in Spanish in 1522 or 1523, misplaced, then published again in 1530.[148]
Another reliable secondary source is the 1601 chronicle and the longer 1615 version, both by Spanish historianAntonio de Herrera y Tordesillas. Herrera's account is all the more accurate as he had access to Spanish and Portuguese sources that are nowhere to be found today, not leastAndrés de San Martín's navigational notes and papers. San Martin, the chief pilot-cosmographer (astronomer) of the Armada, disappeared in the Cebu massacre on 1 May 1521.[149][150]
In addition to Pigafetta's surviving journal, 11 other crew members kept written accounts of the voyage:
Since there was not a set limit to the east, in 1524 both Portugal and Spain had tried to find the exact location of theantimeridian of Tordesillas, which would divide the world into two equal hemispheres and to resolve the "Moluccas issue." A board met several times without reaching an agreement: the knowledge at that time was insufficient for an accurate calculation oflongitude, and each gave the islands to their sovereign.
In 1525, soon after the return of Magellan's expedition, Charles V sent an expedition led byGarcía Jofre de Loaísa to occupy theMoluccas, claiming that they were in his zone of theTreaty of Tordesillas. This expedition included the most notable Spanish navigators, including Juan Sebastián Elcano (who, along with many other sailors, died during the voyage) and the youngAndrés de Urdaneta. They had difficulty reaching the Moluccas, docking atTidore. The Portuguese were already established in nearbyTernate and the two nations had nearly a decade of skirmishing over the possession, which was still occupied by indigenous people.[177] An agreement was reached only with theTreaty of Zaragoza, signed in 1529 between Spain and Portugal. It assigned the Moluccas to Portugal and the Philippines to Spain.
In 1565,Andrés de Urdaneta discovered theManila-Acapulco route.
The course that Magellan charted was later followed by other navigators, such asSir Francis Drake duringhis circumnavigation in 1578,[178] in the process discovering a different route around the tip of South America, the “Drake Passage.” In 1960, the route wasretraced completely submerged (with minor variations in course) byUSSTriton.
Magellan's expedition was the first to circumnavigate the globe and the first to navigate the strait in South America connecting the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans. Magellan's name for the Pacific was adopted by other Europeans.
Magellan's crew observed several animals that were entirely new to European science, including a "camel without humps", which was probably aguanaco, whose range extends toTierra del Fuego. Thellama,vicuña andalpaca natural ranges were in the Andes mountains. Pigafetta's account included a "black goose" that had to be skinned instead of plucked — it was a penguin.[179]
The full extent of the globe was realised, since their voyage was 14,460 Spanish leagues[180] (60,440 km or 37,560 mi).[5] The global expedition showed the need for anInternational Date Line to be established. Upon arrival at Cape Verde, the crew was surprised to learn that the ship's date of 9 July 1522 was one day behind the local date of 10 July 1522, even though they had recorded every day of the three-year journey without omission. They lost one day because they travelled west during their circumnavigation of the globe, in the same direction as the apparent motion of the sun across the sky.[181] Although theKurdish geographerAbu'l-Fida (1273–1331) had predicted that circumnavigators would accumulate a one-day offset,[182] CardinalGasparo Contarini was the first European to give a correct explanation of the discrepancy.[183]
In 2017, Portugal submitted an application toUNESCO to honour the circumnavigation route; the proposal was for aWorld Heritage Site called "Route of Magellan."[184]
In 2019, there were a number of events to mark the 500th anniversary of the voyage including exhibitions in various Spanish cities.[185]
To commemorate the 500th anniversary of Magellan's arrival in the Philippines, the National Quincentennial Committee put upmonuments to mark the points where the fleet anchored.[186][187]
Distance of Magellan's voyage: 37,560 miles (60,440 km)
Personnel records are imprecise. The most accepted total number is 270.
The conflict with the Portuguese, already established in Ternate, was unavoidable. After a year of skirmishes that were to last nearly a decade, the Spanish were defeated over the possession of the archipelago.
Victoria...tied up at the docks in the Triana district of Seville...after...a distance, according to [Antonio] Pigafetta, of 14,460 leagues
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{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)Historia de las Indias (vol. 3 de 5) - Bartolomé De Las Casas (in Spanish){{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)Colección de documentos inéditos para la historia de Chile: desde el viaje de Magallanes hasta la batalla de Maipo: 1518–1818: tomo 7 – Memoria ChilenaArchived 19 October 2019 at theWayback Machine
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