After sailing through the dangerous straits below South
America that now bear his name, Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan enters
the Pacific Ocean with three ships, becoming the first European explorer to
reach the Pacific from the Atlantic.
On September 20, 1519, Magellan set sail from Spain in an
effort to find a western sea route to the rich Spice Islands of Indonesia. In
command of five ships and 270 men, Magellan sailed to West Africa and then to
Brazil, where he searched the South American coast for a strait that would take
him to the Pacific. He searched the Rio de la Plata, a large estuary south of
Brazil, for a way through; failing, he continued south along the coast of
Patagonia. At the end of March 1520, the expedition set up winter quarters at
Port St. Julian. On Easter day at midnight, the Spanish captains mutinied
against their Portuguese captain, but Magellan crushed the revolt, executing
one of the captains and leaving another ashore when his ship left St. Julian in
August.
On October 21, he finally discovered the strait he had been
seeking. The Strait of Magellan, as it became known, is located near the tip of
South America, separating Tierra del Fuego and the continental mainland. Only
three ships entered the passage; one had been wrecked and another deserted. It
took 38 days to navigate the treacherous strait, and when ocean was sighted at
the other end Magellan wept with joy. His fleet accomplished the westward
crossing of the ocean in 99 days, crossing waters so strangely calm that the
ocean was named “Pacific,” from the Latin word pacificus, meaning
“tranquil.” By the end, the men were out of food and chewed the leather parts
of their gear to keep themselves alive. On March 6, 1521, the expedition landed
at the island of Guam.
Ten days later, they dropped anchor at the Philippine island
of Cebu—they were only about 400 miles from the Spice Islands. Magellan met
with the chief of Cebu, who after converting to Christianity persuaded the
Europeans to assist him in conquering a rival tribe on the neighboring island
of Mactan. In fighting on April 27, Magellan was hit by a poisoned arrow and
left to die by his retreating comrades.
After Magellan’s death, the survivors, in two ships, sailed
on to the Moluccas and loaded the hulls with spice. One ship attempted,
unsuccessfully, to return across the Pacific. The other ship, the Vittoria, continued
west under the command of Basque navigator Juan Sebastian de Elcano. The vessel
sailed across the Indian Ocean, rounded the Cape of Good Hope, and arrived at
the Spanish port of Sanlucar de Barrameda on September 6, 1522, becoming the
first ship to circumnavigate the globe.
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