Ferdinand Magellan and the first ever circumnavigation of the world. Ferdinand Magellan: the first trip around the world

The Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan went down in history as the first person who managed to make trip around the world. He became the first European who managed to swim from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and thus prove the existence of a single and indivisible ocean.

short biography

The future navigator was born in 1480 in the small Portuguese town of Ponti da Barca. Being a descendant of a noble, but impoverished noble family, in his adolescence, Fernand served as a page at the royal court.

In 1505, Fernand entered the service of the navy, and over the next five years faithfully served his king in East Africa. His plans to return to his homeland could not be immediately realized due to the outbreak of military battles in India, in which Magellan took part. For his courage, he received the rank of officer, and after being seriously wounded, he was recalled to Portugal.

Rice. 1. Ferdinand Magellan.

Due to severe lameness caused by being wounded in India, Magellan was forced to resign. He dreamed of organizing an expedition to the homeland of spices - the Moluccas, but the Portuguese king refused him. Insulted by undeserved injustice and lack of recognition, Magellan moved to Spain.

Preparing for the expedition

In Seville, Magellan managed to win the favor of the young king Charles I and convince him to equip ships to the Moluccas, promising big profits. The king appointed an experienced navigator as commander-in-chief of the flotilla, the main objective which was the search for a sea route to the cherished islands from the west.

The expedition, which became the life work of Magellan, included 265 people and 5 ships. It is worth noting that all ships were characterized by poor maneuverability, modest size and poor equipment. Magellan did not have geographical maps and reliable navigational instruments, with the exception of a compass and an hourglass.

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Ferdinand Magellan's first circumnavigation of the world

The expedition set sail on September 20, 1519, heading for the Canary Islands. Further, the route ran through Brazil to the south along the coast South America. Before the navigator stood not an easy task- find a passage to the South Sea. At the same time, the flotilla moved only during the day, so as not to miss this passage at night in the dark.

During the forced wintering, which dragged on for 4 months, a mutiny broke out on three ships. Magellan managed to put down the rebellion by ordering the assassination of the rebel captains. During the same period, the flotilla lost one ship, which crashed against the underwater rocks during reconnaissance.

Only in October 1520, Magellan managed to achieve his goal and find a barely noticeable entrance to the strait, which was later called Magellan. Having passed a dangerous narrow strait, the sailors found themselves in the waters of an unknown sea. It was the Pacific Ocean, which was so named by Magellan due to the surprisingly calm weather that prevailed during the entire journey.

Rice. 2. Pacific Ocean.

After a hundred days of sailing in the Pacific Ocean, the flotilla reached the island of Guam, and soon the Philippine archipelago was discovered by Magellan.

Intimidated local population, the navigator forced them to submit to the Spanish king and accept Christianity. In 1521, Ferdinand Magellan tragically died in one of the skirmishes with the natives. Only one ship was able to return to Spain, on board of which only 17 sailors survived. His captain received all the honors and glory, while the commander-in-chief of the flotilla was undeservedly forgotten.

However, the importance of Magellan's journey could not be overestimated. He not only found the western road to the Moluccas, but also made major discovery, which changed the worldview of millions of people and proved that the Earth is round.

After the publication of Vespucci's letters, vague rumors spread in Europe about the existence of a route to India south of the American continent. Some geographic Maps as early as 1515 this passage was recorded, although with a mistake. The Spaniards and the Portuguese set out to find him. Solis's expedition was equipped for this very purpose, as appears from his reports. It was especially important for the Spaniards to find this passage in order to get to Asia, where the Portuguese carried on intensive colonial trade.

The Portuguese navigator Fernando de Magellan was the first to develop a plan for a large expedition. Magellan visited the Portuguese possessions in India and the islands of the southern seas and heard from one of his pilot friends about the discovery of the Moluccas, which in their own way geographic location should have belonged to Spain. Naturalized in Spain, Magellan presented the king with a plan for the expedition, which was approved by him.

Between the king, on the one hand, and Magellan and his friend Faleiro, on the other, a special agreement was signed, which provided for the granting (if a passage was found) to Magellan and Faleiro of the exclusive right to navigate through the strait to the Moluccas for a period of 10 years; the right to receive income from open islands if there are no more than six of them, and if more are opened. In addition, under this agreement, Magellan received all the valuables acquired during the first expedition, as well as the position of royal governor and ruler, and this position was inherited by the children of Magellan.

On September 20, 1519, an expedition consisting of five ships headed for the coast of Brazil. Having explored part of its banks, the expedition headed to the mouth of the La Plata River, where Magellan, struck by the sight of one hill, gave it the name Monte Vidia or Video (now Montevideo). Having suppressed the uprising of several native tribes in Puerto San Julian, the expedition went on.

After many adventures, Magellan, having discovered on the way the land he called Patagonia (because, as it seemed to him, all the inhabitants of this country have very long legs), already with only three ships passed through the strait, which has since been named after him (November 26 1520), and entered the Pacific Ocean. Heading north and then northwest, Magellan discovered a number of islands belonging to the Laugronsknzh (Marian) and Philippine Islands groups.

On the island of Cebu, he struck up relations with the local leader, who already had information about the Portuguese who ruled in the surrounding lands. Magellan concluded an agreement with this leader, under which he pledged to help conquer the neighboring islands in exchange for recognition of the supreme power of the Spanish king. On one of these islands - Matan (or Maktans) - Magellan with several of his companions was killed by the natives. The command of the expedition was taken by Lopez de Carvajou. The expedition continued to move on, visiting other islands of the Philippine group on its way, then Borneo and the Moluccas, where the ships were loaded with colonial goods.

Of the three ships that passed the Strait of Magellan, only one vessel, the Victoria, under the command of the Basque Sebastian de Elcano, was able to continue its voyage at the end of December 1521. After visiting Bura and Timor, the Victoria headed for southern part indian ocean, rounded the Cape of Good Hope and headed north. September 6, 1522 "Victoria" arrived in Sanlúcar (Seville), having completed her trip around the world, which lasted three years. The king received the members of Magellan's expedition very well. Elcano, he appropriated the coat of arms, which depicted the globe.

In 1525, Elcano, together with Loaysa, made a new expedition, which ended very unsuccessfully. Only one ship reached Timor. The Spaniards decided to turn this island into a trading center for colonial goods, in which they wanted to compete with the Portuguese. A year later, a similar expedition was undertaken by Sebastian Cabot (or Cabotto), a navigator who was in the service of Charles. It also ended unsuccessfully, the travelers reached only the La Plata River.

The Portuguese followed Magellan's expedition with displeasure, and although they did not formally interfere with it, they made every effort to delay the return to Spain of those Elcano satellites who remained on Timor in 1521. The Portuguese considered themselves monopolists in the development of this area and , contrary to Magellan, included the Moluccas in their sphere.

For a peaceful settlement of this issue, the kings of Spain and Portugal appointed a mixed commission, which, after several meetings, without reaching any decision, ceased to exist. Indeed, it was impossible to reach an agreement with the ambiguity that existed in the definition of longitude and latitude, and with the differences that showed up from the first day on the question of the division of spheres of influence.

Finally, this issue was resolved by a special treaty (April 22, 1529), according to which Charles ceded to Portugal all his rights to the Moluccas for a large monetary reward. In addition, the treaty established the western border of Spanish possessions, which was supposed to run 17 ° east of the Moluccas. Thus, the Portuguese maintained their dominant position in trade with Asia.

But the Spaniards continued to send expeditions (from Mexico) to the islands of Oceania, even to those that were directly wedged into the Portuguese possessions. These expeditions discovered many new lands, especially in the northern part of Oceania, and, in particular, New Guinea was discovered. The Spaniards tried to establish themselves in the Philippines, but due to the resistance of the Portuguese, this task remained unresolved.

Magellan's journey also caused a number of sea expeditions to the southern part of Pacific Ocean, during which the shores of Chile and others were discovered and explored. The heroes of these geographical discoveries there were Ruy Diaz, Juan Fernandez, Alonso Quintero and especially Alonso Camarco (1539).

First circumnavigation under the leadership of Ferdinand Magellan began on September 20, 1519 and ended on September 6, 1522. The idea of ​​the expedition was in many ways a repetition of the idea of ​​Columbus: to reach Asia, following to the west. The colonization of America had not yet had time to bring significant profits, unlike the colonies of the Portuguese in India, and the Spaniards themselves wanted to sail to the Spice Islands and reap the benefits. By then it had become clear that America was not Asia, but Asia was supposed to lie relatively close to the New World.

In March 1518, Ferdinand Magellan and Rui Faleiro, a Portuguese astronomer, appeared in Seville at the Council of the Indies and declared that the Moluccas, the most important source of Portuguese wealth, should belong to Spain, since they are located in the western, Spanish hemisphere (according to the treaty of 1494), but to get to these "Spice Islands" it is necessary by the western way, so as not to arouse the suspicions of the Portuguese, through the South Sea, open and annexed by Balboa to the Spanish possessions. And Magellan convincingly argued that between Atlantic Ocean and South Sea there must be a strait south of Brazil.

After a long bargain with the royal advisers, who negotiated for themselves a substantial share of the expected income and concessions from the Portuguese, an agreement was concluded: Charles 1 undertook to equip five ships and supply the expedition with supplies for two years. Before sailing, Faleiro abandoned the enterprise, and Magellan became the sole head of the expedition.

Magellan personally supervised the loading and packing of food, goods and equipment. As provisions were taken on board crackers, wine, olive oil, vinegar, salted fish, dried pork, beans and beans, flour, cheese, honey, almonds, anchovies, raisins, prunes, sugar, quince jam, capers, mustard, beef and rice. In case of clashes, there were about 70 guns, 50 arquebuses, 60 crossbows, 100 sets of armor and other weapons. They took matter for trade, hardware, women's jewelry, mirrors, bells and mercury (it was used as a medicine).

Magellan raised the admiral's flag on the Trinidad. The Spaniards were appointed captains of the remaining ships: Juan Cartagena - "San Antonio"; Gaspar Quesada - "Concepcion"; Luis Mendoza - Victoria and Juan Serrano - Santiago. The staff of this flotilla was estimated at 293 people, there were 26 more freelance crew members on board, among them the young Italian Antonio Pigafetga, the historian of the expedition. An international team went on the first round-the-world voyage: in addition to the Portuguese and Spaniards, it included representatives of more than 10 nationalities from different countries Western Europe.

On September 20, 1519, a flotilla led by Magellan left the port of Sanlucar de Barrameda (the mouth of the Guadalquivir River).

Magellan (Magalhaes) Fernand (1480-1521), Portuguese navigator.

Born in the spring of 1480 in Sabroz in an impoverished noble family. In 1492-1504. served as a page in the retinue of the Portuguese queen.

In 1505, as part of the team of Frincisco de Almeida, he went to East Africa; lived for a long time in India and Mozambique. In 1512 he returned to Lisbon and developed a project for sailing by the western route to the Moluccas. The Portuguese king rejected him.

In 1517, Magellan arrived in Spain and entered the service of King Charles I, who appointed him commander of a flotilla heading to search for a new sea route to India. On September 20, 1519, an expedition of five ships left the harbor of Sanlucar de Barrameda (Spain) and in January 1520 reached the mouth of the La Plata River. From here, the ships, moving south, in search of the strait, entered all the bays. Magellan discovered the bays of San Matias and San Jorge on the land he called Patagonia. In March 1520, he put down a mutiny that broke out on three ships during the winter in San Julian Bay. In August, Magellan moved further south and on October 21, 1520 entered the strait, which he called the Strait of All Saints (later renamed the Strait of Magellan). Having explored it, the navigator discovered the Tierra del Fuego archipelago. During the passage of the strait, the crew of the San Antonio rebelled and turned back to Spain.

November 28, 1520 Magellan went into the ocean, called by his companions the Pacific. Further navigation was very difficult due to lack of provisions and fresh water. Having covered more than 17,000 km, in March 1521 Magellan discovered three islands from the Mariana Islands group (including Guam), and then the Philippine Islands (Samar, Mindanao and Cebu).

On April 27, 1521, the navigator was killed during a skirmish with the natives on Mactan Island (Philippines). His companions continued their journey, but only two ships returned to Spain - the previously deserted San Antonio and Victoria.

The expedition of Magellan made the first circumnavigation of the world, proving the existence of a single World Ocean and providing practical evidence of the sphericity of the Earth.